Blood Ties like Iron chains
by Tzaotao
Summary: Sequel to "Out of the jaws of death", missing princesses, surpising relatives, mysteries and enemies applenty. Luffy and Nami has found the Strawhat captains' uncle and things are about to go CRAZY! Rated for light violence/action and a few suggestive themes and situations. CHAPTER 20 is finally here!
1. Chapter 1

**Blood ties like iron chains**

 _Somethings You never, ever choose... Mostly because fate does it for you._

Multible point of view characters, but Nami has the majority

* * *

(On the Thousand Sunny, about a week after escaping Tottoland)

The Strawhat crew had reunited with the rest of the crew and were celebrating the new inclusion of the fishman Jinbe as Helmsman of the Thousand Sunny.

The week the Sanji retrieval team had travelled from their adventure in Tottoland had been used recuperating, mostly for Luffy and Jinbe as they had taken the greater amount of the beatings Big mom had graced to give the Strawhats as a parting gift.

Sanji had been wounded too, but his were mild scrapings at best. His mental scars of the eventual prospect of being forced to return to Kamabakka Kingdom were far more severe. Not to mention that Nami was now bearing a grudge against him. And then, there was what the rest of the crew had wanted to do to him. Zoro had been in favour of cutting him in several places over his actions. Franky was a little cold over it too but more concerned that he was back with the crew again. Robin hadn't been the most positive about the situation either and had chosen to be rather distant from him (which for Sanji had been like a kick to the groin). Usopp had been the only one that had been supportive of him, knowing the feeling of being outsider after acting out against the crew. The two sat on the edge of the party drinking and laughing.

Near the center of the deck, Luffy and Jinbe were drinking and talking, the fishman being a little anxious to get properly acquainted with all his new nakama and so far, everyone had been supportive of him being part of the crew, although Franky had complained that he had to change the ships design to accommodate their newest member. But with the possibility of them getting more members, that was hurdle he'd be forced to jump eventually. He already had the prospect of resizing the girls room due to unforeseen circumstances.

After they had dropped off Pedro at Zou, Carrot had snuck back on the ship, wanting to see more of the wonderland that was the sea. So far the only minus to this was that they were running low on….. carrots, though Sanji's cooking was getting her more used to a different diet.

Sanji and Chopper had been in favour of going back and drop her off again. Both for their own reasons , the chef being more than a little obsessed with the Minks tradition of garchu (female minks ONLY), while Chopper said he wanted to make sure Nekomamushi and Inuarashi followed his instructions (a good reason considering the cat minks stubborn attitude, though the attention Chopper had given one of the members of the musketeer squad spoke of something else, despite his rejections of such ideas).

Luffy had also been interested in returning, if not for another banquet.

Brook had called in a veto for returning however for a number of quite valid reasons:

1\. They were actually having a bit of a war with Kaido

2\. Big Moms children was likely to retaliate soon

3\. They had to get to Wano country!

(4. Brook didn't want to be assaulted by an army of Dog mink again!)

In the end the skeleton had won the debate. And the crew was now sailing towards Runny Rum archipelago, a wellknown travel hub that could be their next stop towards Wano country. If they were lucky they could even gather some allies while they were at it.

The party stopped abrubtly however, as soon as Nami received and read the days' newspaper.

On the frontpage it read in huge letters: _**Reverie attacked! Princesses disappeared!**_

Beneath the headline was a picture of several Kings, some of whom Nami unfortunately knew personally. Nefeltari Cobra, Neptune and one old man in a cloak. Despite their high position, most were showing signs of being highly concerned for their daughters.

The entire crew had gathered around Nami as she read the article out loud:

 _Reverie in Mariejois had been attacked by the criminal Revolution and in the commotion a number of VIP's have disappeared into the New World, the majority of which were princesses from various countries._

Reading the list, Nami went white as a ghost, the names all too familiar to her

 _Princess Vivi of Alabasta in Paradice_

 _Princess Shirahoshi of Fishman Island_

 _Princess Viola of Dressrosa in the New World  
_

 _Besides these esteemed women, there were also 2 bodyguards that had accompanied the ambassador of Amazon Lily, whom had most graciously been sent by the Pirate Empress as a sign of diplomatic relations to the World Governemt in the hopes that it would bring the world closer together (_ those were the exact words _). _A Lady-in-waiting accompanying Princess Viola, also went missing.__

It didn't say anything about where they might have disappeared to or even whom of the Revolution that had attacked.

Nami had to reread the article several times, her fear of her friends growing each time. In the end she handed the paper to Jinbe with a shaking hand. The fishman flipped through the paper, trying to find anything, anything that might be of use. As Nami let herself fall down on the grasscovered deck, Jinbe had found a picture of the disappeared Princesses, which he promptly handed to Sanji, who naturally turned to stone at the sight of all those beauties on the same page, allowing Carrot to snatch it from his petrified hands and gush at the picture herself. Behind her Franky and Brook quickly lined up, neither being familiar with all the faces.

Nami wanted to scream, putting her hands on her head, she tried to think straight. They were their friends (and that counted Viola too, as, even though she hadn't met her personally, Sanji's repeated and vivid description of her was enough to make Nami feel like she knew her already).

Luffy was uncharacteristically silent as he stood next to Jinbe as the large fishman examined the rest of the paper for any clues as to what had transpired.

Eventually, the former shichibukai had to give up his search, shaking his head in dismay.

Nami could guess what that meant:

there was nothing that spoke of where the Princesses had gone to specifically, or even how they'd left! They had practically no idea of where to look! Not to mention, with their pictures in the paper, the seas would be swarming with Pirates, Marines and Bounty hunters, all eager to capture the women and do gods-knew-what to them!

"OI!" the word (or rather sound) rang out clearly across the deck

She knew the voice and shouldn't be surprised why it was him that had spoken.

Looking at him made her feel a twinge of pride at sailing under him,

Luffy stood with his fist on his sides, looking at the ocean as if he was ruling it already, the captain looked like he had a plan.

At that, Nami stopped herself,

Luffy with a plan would be less likely than seeing Arlong in a dress, dating Sanji!

"We gotta find them!" he said "They're our friends!"

For once Luffy was right, and the crew began to give supportive howls of "Yeah! YES!", not surpicingly Sanji and Brook were the most enthusiastic about saving women in distress. The two were in fact already gathering ammunition for the Coup de burst, ready for launch. The chef was moving like a man possesed, the thought of three princesses and two Kuja pirates being somewhere within reach (or at least sailing distance) making him burst with energi.

Jinbe swiftly moved to Nami's side and helped her up "Would You help me set a course Nami-san?"

Nodding at him, Nami looked at her Logpose, for once the three arrows were calm and no place seemed particularly more dangerous than others, meaning every route could be taken. Looking at Luffy, Nami saw that he was still looking at the sea, his arms now folded and a big grin spreading on his face.

"It's gonna be so good seeing those guys again!" he laughed

 _Typical_... Nami thought, even as she was giving Jinbe acourse to follow, straight back towards the red Line,

 _he hasn't got a clue what's going on..._

 _Although it would be nice to see them again_

* * *

(On an unknown beach)

She knew she should be frigthened,

she knew she should be panicing,

anything else would be unnatural.

But she couldn't help herself,

Vivi was just so happy to have gotten out of that boring meeting!

She had missed the breeze of sea air and the sound of waves, and the brief voyage to Mariejois hadn't been nearly enough to settle her cravings for the great vastness of the ocean and the adventures awaiting behind every storm or Island. All was possible for those who were brave and daring enough to sail upon it.

Still, considering the situation, she really should be worrying!

Out in the middle of the New World, she was stuck on a tiny island with practically nothing on it (rocks and shrubs didn't exactly count as tourist attractions) along with five other women, none of whom she knew from earlier (although she had heard rumours about the Mermaid princess (she was much larger than Vivi had expected, but then Again Vivi had met actual giants whom were far larger (and braver) than her, so no need for alarm) and had read about the recent return of the old royal family in Dressrosa), and all having their personal ideas about what should happen.

The giant Mermaid had proven to be greatest source of panic and worry in the lot, Rocking back and forth on the beach, commenting (but not really complayning) on how _dry_ the surface world was and how warm the sun, shielding her large orbs with a humongous hand (or with locks of her pink hair).

The princess of Dressrosa, seemingly the eldest woman on the island, was busy tending to her young pinkhaired lady-in-waitings' wellbeing and was less concerned about where they were at the moment or the fact she had almost drowned when the six of them had landed in the water. She had only survived because the mermaid had picked her up afterwards. Strangely, Vivi could've sworn she heard the younger girl refer to princess Viola as _aunt_...

The two Kuja Pirates, the only _definite_ non-royalty on the beach were the least shaken ones, even less than Vivi herself. She reasoned, that they, being pirates, were more experienced than herself at the rough life at seas. Studying the two, Vivi reckoned that they could've been sisters, despite their multitude of differences, one of which was different hair and skin colour, but the eyes looking so similar it was eerie, same for the nose and, to a lesser degree, the mouth, and in general, the figure. not to mention their clothes. Both wore skimpy revelaing outfits that could've made Nami blush, open shirts that left little to the imagination and tight pants with floral decorations in a dozen clashing colours and shapes. One had dark hair put in a bun and was smoking a cigarette, while the other had blonde and unruly hair, but cut short at around chin lenght.

but while one was clamly ligthing her cigarette (the dark one), the other (the blonde) was looking at her sorrounding wth a rapt faschination, like a child that'd been introduced to a circus. Vivi could scarcely recall that she'd acted in a similar way during the Reverie, where her and her comrade had been touching and pinching several of the men present (none of whom had protested in the least, some like her father had even encouraged it (but, to his chagrin, hadn't been graced with the touch of the young women)) something which Vivi hadn't been able to make sense of.

If it was some sort of cultural trait, shared by their fellow Kuja tribeswomen, it hadn't been one shared by the diplomat, a rather short elderly woman, whom, as far as Vivi could gather, had once been the Empress or Queen of the during the Reverie everyone had been more obsessed with her bodyguards than her. Vivi included.

The runt of a woman hadn't cared however and proceeded to be the most productive attendee at the Reverie. At least amongst the women, the majority of the men being preoccupied with something _else_.

The meeting had run along smoothly, except for some squabbling between the rulers of the Sakura Kingdom and the Black Drum Kingdom. Not surprising, Vivi had met either of the rulers, Dalton and Wapol, briefly, and it was enough to see that their emnity ran deep.

Fortunately it was averted quickly (it was amazing what a rearanging of seats could do),

yet it wasn't the end of the problems:

an event took place that seemed to be a returning problem, it was almost like a ritual: some one asked if The ruler of Tottoland should be recognised as an actual kingdom. most were outraged by this returning question, yet some found it absolutely hilarious, enough for some royal joker to bring it up at each meeting.

but then the real trouble started.

A Group of men had entered, dressed as waiters, but instead of dishes with savoury treats and offering them to the guests, they had carried guns and demanded they all get on the ground.

Naturally, the assembled royalty did not obey the demands of anyone and some had even laughed it off, thinking it a joke.

The king of... _Prodence_ Vivi assumed, hadn't been one of them and had floored the armed men with a punch, which while impressive, didn't help against the other Group, or the third that entered the great dining halls' other end, boxing the royals in like fish in a can. And the other Groups opened fire!

They had fired into the air, so no one got hurt, only seeking the full cooperation and attention of the crowd.

Their commander, a man wearing a White cloak, had demanded that they sit still and awaited the Words of Dragon the revolutionary.

The mention of the name made several Kings grit their teeth and more than one queen or princess faint (for Vivi it conjured the image of Dragons' son Luffy, yet it still made her nervous).

Before they could hear the ominous Words of the Worlds most wanted, The marines and the guards arrived, no doubt attracted by the shooting

Panic and Chaos was the result of that volatile combination.

screamning, smoke, gunfire, sword clashing and bodies of guard or revolutionary flying around separated Vivi from her fahter and friends. Before she knew it, Vivi was standing next to the other five women and a man so tall he oculd be mistaken for a giant. A coincidence that made the behemoth the perfect target for the bullets that were flying in their direction. Bullets which came far too close for comfort to Vivi and the other women.

For whatever reason the huge bear of a man shielded them with his body (Even the huge Shirahoshi) while bullets were hitting him in the back and head. (It made a really strange _ping_ sound, like rain on a tin roof)

Looking at them through his glasses, the man had spoken, with a voice that could have been made by a radio in a blender " _Where do you want to go_?"

Before Vivi could answer the man had raised his palm at the Group of women (Vivi noticed that it had the imprint of a paw on it) and then she had heard a _wuush!_

Next thing Vivi knew, she, and the other five women, were flying over the SEA!

Taking a Deep breath,

Vivi gazed at her companions, contemplating her next move...

 _might as well get to know these Guys..._

* * *

(Elsewhere, on a heavily modified ship in the new World)

Laughing, a man threw the days' newspaper down on the table, puzzling the other man occupying the cabin

"What'd you do that for?" he asked confused

"Haven't you read it yet? The Mermaid Princess is in the New World, unguarded!" the ecstatic response came back, the man laughed and rubbed his hands in anticipation

"What of it? There's going to be a thousand ships searching for her already, not to mention the other princesses that went missing"

"As if that'd stop us from snatching them from under their noses! Besides it's not the first time we've gone against worse odds!"

"True, and whomever gets them can demand pretty much anything from their fathers', but why the Mermaid specifically?" his companion continued, and thinking of the possible implications, followed up in a teasing tone "You know, for some reason, you don't stike me as the type to be into merfolk..."

Even though he snickered, his companion didn't join him, but still smiled in an extremely scheming way

"That's not it. You said it yourself, _ask their fathers anything_ right? The merfolk king can give us something we need."

"Which iiiiis?" his companion asked with a puzzled look "Kelp and seafood? Help at salvaging if we run aground?"

"Fishmen or merfolk, either one could be of great use to us" his comrade corrected him.

Finally understanding his friends' plan, the companion stood up, standing a head taller than his friend, he did a mock salute, smiling at the future of their Little pirate crew

"Ready to set the course Cap'n"

* * *

(On a ship, fresh out of Mariejois)

Pell looked into the Horizon, the waves before him speaking of untold dangers and adventure. The latter part, he knew, would fit Princess Vivi perfectly. She'd been so bored in the last two years that she'd gotten reckless. He knew she was perfectly capable of taking care of herself, but something about the Whole situation was naggin him.

that something being in part from an increasingly sick King Cobra, coughing in his wheelchair, right next to him.

Despite Pells protests, not to mention every doctors' at Mariejois, his liege had insisted on searching for his daughter.

The other part was whom else had decided to accompany them. The king of Dressrosa, Riku Dold III and the Merfold King Neptune, he could understand, theri daughters (and in Riku's case also a granddaguhter!) were missing, it made sense for them to join forces and search.

it was the others that didn't make much sense to him. The Kuja ambassador had decided to stay behind, reasoning that her bodyguards could take care of themselves, which Pell could readily agree with if even half the Things he'd heard about the Kuja were true (though their unfitting behaviour at the reverie spoke a different story).

Why? just Why the King of Prodence, the oversized lunk of meat and muscle that was Elizabello II, had decided to tag along was a decidedly frustrating question? As far as Pell was concerned he was partially to blame for the situation, his punch making a bad situation worse, though the huge man didn't appear to see it that way, instead, it appeared to Pell that the man was eyeing an opportunity to dish out some more hits. Pell had even heard he'd treated the entire Reverie as a giant festival (Although he was not alone with that flaw, far too many members of the royal houses had begun to focus more on their own fun, than on their peoples problems (The queen of Goa Kingdom in East Blue had been a _very_ good example of that tendency))

The rest of the blame for the situation fell squarely on the Shichibukai Bartholomew Kumas' oversized shoulders.

He was the one that had sent the girls flying to gods knew where! And all he could give in response to where they went was: _Where they felt safe._...?! (Pell couldn't figure out whether being an indifferent arrogant bastard was part of the requirements for being a Shichibukai, but it seemed likely, even the Pirate Empress had only sent an ambasador instead of showing up herself to the Reverie!)

An even greater mystery was why the King of the hazard kingdom of Germa had decided to join in the hunt, even if he argued that he merely wanted to help his Fellow Kings. looking over his children and soldiers that were on the ship with them, their ramshackle and heavily damaged navy of sea snail vessels fanning out behind their own, Pell couldn't help but feel a knot in his stomach.

King Judge Vinsmoke was bound to have ultirior motives, which would lead to some heavy Price to be paid for his _aid_ later...

Even though their numbers could help them cvover more ground, Judge Couldn't be trusted,

Pell Gritted his teeth and looked back at the Horizon, trying to swallow his frustrations and focus on the matter at hand,

he supposed he'd cross those bridges, when he came to them.

* * *

(Across the new World)

"Three princesses missing! let's get 'em!"

that phrase was ringing out from every harbour and ship that had recieved a newspaper, soon the sea would be swarming with Hunters of fortune (be they Pirates or Marines) and possibly, more than a few suitors...

* * *

(On one of Runny Rum Archipelago's beaches)

Sipping her drink while reading the newspaper, Charlotte Galette, the 16'th daughter of Big Mom, frowned.

Three princesses missing and in the new World somewhere... G _reat_ she thought, _the seas will be in Chaos until they're found_. Looking back at the Beach and at her sister Amande, whom, at the moment, was getting a much needed tan (although that was hard to do, wearing what at best resembled a dark blue Burkini and with her ridiculously wide hat acting as a parasol for both women) Galette contemplated the news.

With all those idiots out to sea looking for some spoiled rotten princesses that were most likely dead already, it really didn't make any sense to remain on the Archiepelago... _but then Again_ , that they would get a little breather from all the oggling men that had swarmed them for the past several days, was almost too good an opportunity to pass up.

And if Smoothie called to send them on some wild goosechase or to get back to Tottoland, Galette could claim that it was reasonable thatn soneone would come to the archiepelago to search for them. Giving her and Amande all the reason to stay. If no one showed up they could at least enjoy the sun and the drinks, the latter being Galette's favorite passtime in between bathing and tanning.

Calling the busboy over for another Daquiri, she decided that life was good sometimes.

* * *

(On another of Runny Rum Archiepelago's islands)

"Idiot!" the man sighed as he read the newspaper "It's no mystery where Strawhat gets his inteligence from..."

Taking a moment to look over the top of the newspaper at the tranquil waves as they beat against his little private cove, the setting sun reflecting it's rays across the crests of the surf, creating a panorama of copper, gold, blues and greens and covering everything deeper within the cove with deep shadows, obscuring anything from view, even if someone stood right next to him, it would be hard to see the huge man, sitting in a Beach chair at a little table, upon which stood a glass of his favorite expensive vintage. And yet the sight and the situation did little to improve his mood.

"... Definetly not from his mother..." he continued bitterly, looking at another article absentmindedly while muttering to himself "... and the moron will be out searching for them like a puppy for a treat it doesn't know what smells like!"

"DID YOU SAY SOMETHING?" the call came out like a foghorn through the nooks and cranies of the cove, making the man grind his teeth together at the interruption of his alone time "NOT TO YOU!" he shouted back, a vein beginning to throb at the edge of his forehead.

"No need to shout, I'm standing right here you know!" the slightly _feminine_ voice shot back, clearly agitated

The man slumped back into his seat, not deeming it fit to turn and greet her, instead figuring out his next order of buisness.

"By the way, I'll be leaving in a few days..." He began, stopping for what he knew was comming

"But you just got here! It's been almost a year since last time you visited! And a years since we actually got back in touch! And before that it was over 20 years since last we even spoke! Taking a pen and writing a letter isn't impossible for someone in your condition you know! And..." The woman yapped before the sitting man stopped her

"I've got buisness to attend to" he said as he rose, handing the woman the newspaper "And they cannot wait forever Fran"

and with that, he left, walking deeper into the cove, pondering how he should best leave the area unseen. Just as he was about to enter thew hidden caves at the very end of the cove, he heard the telltale sign of Fran reading the article, her voice muffled amongst the crash of waves and wind against the cove, yet still maintaining a steel edge, that would give most men (not him of course) pause:

"DRAGON, _YOU IDIOT_!"

* * *

(On a secret location)

Dragon shivered and looked around, sligthly nervous, he could have sworned something horrible had happened!

Which was true he figured, something horrible was always happening. Especially now where his special forces had botched their assignment at the Reverie.

Looking over his desk as reports flooded in that said special forces had evaded capture and was masking their movements as best they could.

At least that was good, and their debacle could still be turned to the Revolutions advantage.

He just needed the right man ofr the task.

And he knew just whom...

Picking up a Den den Mushi, he called one of his men to summon that particular man

" _Get me Ivankov_!"

* * *

(aboard the Sunny)

Nami looked at the sea from the crowsnest, though in truth there was Little that could be seen at this time of day, the last rays of the sun casting their light on the waves of the sea.

She could however look Down on the deck of the Sunny, most people had gone indoors, Usopp and Franky to their respective workshops, Sanji to his kitchen, Robin helping Carrot to settle in, Brook and Chopper chatting in the Medical wing.

which only left Jinbe at the Helm, his massive form standing contently behind the Wheel, a small smile playing at the edges of his fanged mouth. Zoro was soundly asleep at the other end of the crowsnest, not being terrbily engaged in looking for any glimpse on the Horizon.

Luffy was sitting on the Sunny's figurehead, unable to contain his excitement for the adventure to come.

He was problably the only one that wasn't doing anything that would help in their search, although that wasn't a surprise, the man couldn't do much aside from figthing and eating like a pig.

It might appear like he wasn't the only one but that wasn't true, Usopp and Franky was bussy trying to figure out where they would keep their friends as soon as they found them (there was a certain Space problem if Shirahoshi was to be transported on their ship), Robin and Carrot were reorganising the women's bedroom for the same reason, Sanji was looking over their inventory figuring out how much food they would need and Brok and Chopper were going over their Medical supplies, just in case something bad happened.

Nami had decided to be on lookout duty. A task which, up until then, hadn't proved particularly eventful. All she had managed to figure out was that they were in for some smooth sailing for the night.

Looking back at the sea, Nami hoped they would be Lucky to even get a sniff of where their friends were,

before somebody else did...

* * *

First chapter in a new story, which is intended as a sequel to my previous _Out of the jaws of death_

This is off course just the setup for the story, it'll be more streamlined within the next few chapters, where the genre of this Little tale will be made more clear, aswell, basically it'll go from adventure/mystery to family/mystery, not to mention exactly whose Family it'll be mostly about, even though ALOT of families are going to get involved eventually, some with a minor role, others with a major one.

 _Be warned there's a lot of individual strands for this one, plenty of Groups that're going to make an appearance_

Identified players in this story so far:

1\. The Strawhats (obviously)

2\. The missing women (Vivi, Viola, Rebecca, Shirahoshi and two, as of yet, unrevealed Kuja pirates)

3\. The royal houses (of Alabasta, Dressrosa, Prodence, Fishman Island and Germa)

4\. The revolutionaries (represented by Ivankov)

5\. The Big Mom Pirates (Galette and Amande mainly, but more will show up)

And some unidentified:

6\. An undisclosed number of independent and unrevealed Groups that are searching for the missing women. (They'll play a minor role and will mostly serve as cameos and easter eggs to be honest)

7\. An unrevealed party not interested in the wild goose chase for the missing women... okay maybe a Little.

not every Group will make it into every chapter.

hope you enjoyed it so far, read and review if you please


	2. Chapter 2: A dangerous Sea

Blood ties like iron chains chapter 2: ocean overview

A dangerous Sea!

* * *

(On an Unknown Island)

"So that's everyones story?" Vivi said, her hand reaching for her her head, which was still trying to keep up with all the different information, which was indeed a lot.

Shirahoshi: A Mermaid princess that had never left fishman island before, whose mother had died trying to bring fishmen and merfolk closer together with humans. To put it lightly, the giant mermaid was a scaredy cat. 16 years old and more afraid of her own shadow than a toddler would be of a shark (which Shirahoshi, perhaps understandably, wasn't afraid of at all, telling a fond, if slightly incomplete, story of hiding within her giant pet sharks' mouth one time).

Viola: A princess of Dressrose that had spent over a decade amongst the very people who overthrew her father and whom eventually had become the crown princess of the Island kingdom again after her niece Rebecca (also her lady in waiting) had abdicated in order to live with her father (who'd been a… _toy_ … for a _decade_ …. (Vivi decided that some Devil fruits abilities were too strange for her to comprehend, and she'd seen Mister 2's, Choppers and Luffy's abilities firsthand)). Rebecca had been forced to participate in the colosseum, fighting for years on end and having to endure all sorts of hardships, the hatred of the Population that had been turned against her grandfather, king Riku. Not to mention the other gladiators.

Both aunt and niece seemed like pleasant people, same with the mermaid, which only left the two Kuja pirates.

Rindo was the darkhaired one, and apparently the best sniper amongst the Kuja pirate crew (though Vivi didn't see how that was possible to do with a _bazooka_ ), and Marguerite, the blonde, had only recently been deemed strong enough to be a member of the crew herself. In all they hadn't the most intriguing story to tell, at least compared to the princesses. Vivi found that she was a tad disappointed, not getting some interesting stories about Amazon Lily or the Pirate queen. Although she honestly didn't want to hear more about the shichibukai, her own experiences had made her very wary of that particular group (and she didn't want to remind Viola and Rebecca about their time under Doflamingo's rule, nor rile up Shirahoshi for no good reason). So not hearing about the sole female member of that group suited her perfectly.

It wasn't like they didn't want to talk about her, Marguerite praised their empress' beauty like there was no one in the world that could match her. It was more like there wasn't much to say aside from that. Which was both odd and strangely normal all things considered. As citizens of nation they would naturally have a picture of their ruler which they stuck to like flypaper, but as "handmaidens" of their queen, it was a bit strange they didn't say more about her.

 _Loyalty perhaps_ Vivi thought, as she sat back down on one of the large boulders that dotted the small island.

All the talk about life stories and life in general back in their respective home countries had all been an ice breaker, to try and pass the time as they awaited their rescue. Yet all stories had a vagueness to them that Vivi found unnerving.

Somehow everyone was holding something back!

Night had passed, and the morning was beginning to make way for noon, and yet no one had seen any ships in the horizon.

It was irking Vivi more than she wanted to admit.

Waiting to be rescued was the smart thing to do given the circumstances.

But since none of them knew where they were, it was plausible that they rescuers didn't know where to look either!

Vivi laid herself flat down on the boulder, looking up into the impossibly blue sky above.

She assumed they could all piggyback in Shirahoshi away from the island, but given the mermaids skittishness, it might be a _very_ bad idea to rely on her for that.

And the boredom of their stay was beginning to show, Vivi had caught Viola make "o"-signs with her hand and moving it towards her eyes more than once. The older woman had stopped when she realized that her behavior had been noticed however. It had Puzzled Vivi, and it might erupt into something over the course of their stay.

In any way, they couldn't stay there forever, what little water they could draw from the ocean would not sustain them for long, and without food they'd be dead within a few days anyway!

Suddenly a sound erupted out of nowhere

It was a muffled sound, But Vivi was certain she'd heard it a hundred times before in the court of Alabasta.

It was a ringing sound, like from a Den Den Mushi!

* * *

(Aboard the Sunny)

Nami sat in her study, a bunch of maps strewn out on the desk before her, each one showing a small part of the New World.

The navigator scanned each one in turn, trying to figure out where they should search first. It would make sense to begin close to the red line, but that would also be where the Marines and everybody else would be concentrating their attention.

But if the missing princesses had ended up close to Mariejois, then they would most certainly have been found by then.

 _And some valiant marine captain would have received a promotion and a medal for having heroically saved the damsels in distress!_ Pushing her cynical thoughts aside, Nami resumed her search, looking at the maps.

All the capes, peninsulas, inlets, isles and reefs offered more than a thousand places for the princesses to hide, or be held captive.

Nami yawned. Having been up most of the night, going over this and that map of trading routes, marine bases and kingdoms, she'd barely allowed herself the time to eat the breakfast Sanji had brought her, in fact, she'd barely registered what he had called…. Whatever it was. _It looked like eggs in tomato sauce…._ Nami had put the meal down on the floor so she could have more space for her maps. _It had smelled delicious though….._ But thinking back at his behavior in Tottoland, and not being satisfied with Luffy's idea of a punishment for him, Nami wasn't going to allow the chef the satisfaction of eating his food, at least for the moment.

Rubbing her tired eyes Nami looked back down on the map of the nearby Runny Rum Archipelago. Eight islands of different sizes, close enough for a ship like the Sunny to travel between them in less than an hour, and even from one end of the archipelago to the other in less than 6. The map of this area had been a gift from the King of Fishman Island. Why Neptune had given it to Robin Nami didn't know, but she was grateful nonetheless. A relatively staple area of the New World, Runny Rum provided a safe haven for travelers, merchants, _and pirates_. Which was also why the marines had put a Vice admiral in charge of the naval base which dominated the main island, the largest one.

That alone would normally make Nami want to steer clear of the place, but there was something she wanted to see there too, in fact she was certain that when she told the others about the place, they'd be more than a little eager for it as well.

Luffy and Robin in particular.

Both of whom, coincidently walked into the room at that moment. Or rather, Luffy barged in liked he used to do, eager for any sort of action. It was like seeing a storm get legs and walk about without a care in the world, which fit Luffy just perfectly. Robin followed her own habits, waltzing into the room with supreme confidence and serenity, her eyes not showing any signs of worry or anticipation.

Either persons' gait was strangely comforting for Nami to see.

"Any ideas where we're going Nami?" Luffy smiled at her, his eyes greedy for any chance of adventure his navigator might provide him with. He soon Mimicked Nami's crestfallen mood as she shook her head in response.

"Our problem is that we don't know where to start looking! They could be anywhere! Either side of the Red Line, below the seas' surface or even up on a _Sky Island_!" Nami almost yelled the last part, her frustration boiling over. Her outburst made Luffy take an instinctive step backwards, right into Nami's breakfast, sending the Strawhat captain and future Pirate King crashing into one of the bookcases that lined the wall, burying him in a small hill of books, scrolls and maps.

Nami sighed at the sight, she was too tired to even yell at him to clean it up. As Robin took a step towards her, Nami leaned back in her chair, exhaling deeply, her eyes half closed, looking at nothing in particular.

"So we don't know where to start….." Robin began, not asking a question but more summarizing the situation, both for Nami's (her being almost too tired to think) and Luffy's (whom was beginning to dig himself out of his book confinement) benefit. Making sure she had both of her friends' attention Robin continued "….so what we need: is to know where others have searched and will search"

It was obvious now that Nami thought about it, but she had no idea of where to get that kind of information "But where do we get that?" she said, her head rolling from one side to the other, lack of sleep beginning to catch up with her.

"I have a plan for that Nami, but first, I think you should get some rest…", stopping briefly to glance at the floor, Robin looked back at Nami with a smile "… and some food, I doubt you'll want Sanji's Shakshouka now"

Looking at the older woman, Nami blinked, and then blushed.

"Sha….. what now?" Nami said, hoping she'd heard wrong and that her drowsy mind was playing tricks on her.

"Shakshouka Nami, did you think I meant to say sha…." Nami waved her hands frantically in front of her face, her blush deepening, hoping Robin wouldn't finish her sentence, and hoping even more for neither of her friends would ask what she thought she'd heard.

Fortunately Robin giggled overbearingly at her and didn't press the question, and Luffy was too busy shoveling Sanji's tomato-sauced dish into his own awaiting mouth, to care about the two womens' conversation.

"Captain, please take Nami to the Dining room, I think I'll be able to find where to go from here with Jinbe-sans' help"

Reluctantly, Nami did as Robin asked her, even allowing Luffy to shoulder her to the dining room, where a both overjoyed, and enraged Sanji greeted them (he correctly blamed Luffy for eating the food he'd particularly prepared for Nami-scwann, but at the same time was more than happy to cook up another dish especially for her).

Nami ate her French toast in silence (not that she could've managed to be heard over the sound of Luffy yelling for more food, or wanted to for that matter, her ire against the chef even going to the point where she didn't want to thank him for the meal).

Finishing up her plate, she had Luffy (much to a teary eyed Sanjis' chagrin) help her to her room, for some much needed sleep.

* * *

(back in the Sunny's library)

Robin smiled to herself

Nami really had a bad habit of worrying, and overreacting, too much. If the bags under her eyes was any indication, the navigator had been up all night going over the maps, most likely getting worked up over all the things that could've happened to her friends by now.

A tired Navigator, tired anything for that matter, made stupid mistakes, and for the idea that Robin had in mind, they really needed to be flawless!

Finding what she'd been looking for, Robin smiled as her eyes narrowed and scanned the map in front of her.

 _This was going to get tricky!_ She thought, _well, not the part about convincing her captain of her plan, or JInbe for that matter, the huge fishman was all tooo eager to be of service to his new crewmates, more about how to make Nami and Usopp go along with the plan…._

* * *

(on an unknown Island)

Sitting straight up, Vivi looked around, trying to locate where the sound was coming from. She wasn't alone, the other women looking around in surprice.

The sound seemed to come from one of the Kuja, neither of which seemed to understand the sound either. Vivi approached the darkhaired one, Rindo, and without pause began to rummage through her pockets (that her skimpy clothing included such features would have surprised Vivi, if she wasn't more concerned with other things)

Finally finding where the sound was coming from, Vivi was surprised to find a small black Den Den mushi.

Holding the little gastropod in the palm of her hand she starred at it as it continued to ring, before her gaze shifted towards a confused looking Rindo.

"Rindo-san….." Vivi began, her voice trembling a little while on e of her eyes twitched "why didn't you say _you had this_?"

"I didn't know, I don't know what that is!"

"Stop asking questions and answer the snail!" Viola's frustrated voice cut in, ripping Vivi and Rindo out of the argument that they could've started.

Answering the snail with a nervous "Hello?", Vivi was surprised to be met by an elderly voice, which, despite cracking like stone occasionally, was oddly feminine "Rindo? Is Marguerite with you? You sound odd _Nyo!"_

"Elder Nyon?" Rindo and Marguerite blurted out in unison, their surprise plain to see, marguerite stared at the small Den den mushi "How can you be in that small snail?"

"I'm not in the snail Marguerite, I'm talking through it! Are the Princesses with you?"

Answering the Old woman's question, Vivi followed up with one of the own "Why did you plant this on Rindo-san, Elder Nyon-san?"

"I didn't _nyo_ " Nyon responded, her voice sounding taut like a rope, not being entirely happy with something "A prince from Ilusia Kingdom planted it on her after she pinched his cheek, it took a while to track him down and explain the situation to his father _nyo_ …."

Vivi almost couldn't believe it, saved by some randy prince!

"Fortunately, Lucas-dono _nyo_ is quite reasonable…" Elder Nyon continued, before adding "….for a man _nyo_ "

Looking around at the other women in relief at the prospect of being saved, Vivi smiled broadly, before she turned to the Den Den Mushi in her hand "So when will we be rescued?"

"Don't know _nyo_ , your fathers didn't know where to look when they set out yesterday, just that you were in the new world _nyo_ " the old voice responded in a matter of fact tone, the sound of which made Vivi freeze, the only movement of her face being a twitching eye

"So they don't know where we are either?!" Vivi finally managed to half scream into the snail,

"….If you don't know, how would they _nyo_?" the old woman's voice rang back, seemingly taking the whole situation in stride, a fact that only served to shock the stranded women even more.

Viola hugged a trembling Rebecca, both of the Kuja stood stock still, a small bead of sweat running down Marguerites' face, and the humongous Shirahoshi rocked back and forth with her tail in her arms, trying to hold back tears.

"But you're all together NO _nyo_?" the old woman said after a short break, temporarily ripping the women out of their panic

"Yes, yes we are" Vivi took some solace in that fact at least, it'd be a catastrophe if they were all scattered across the sea "We are together Elder Nyon-san" she confirmed, just as much as to reaffirm it to her herself

"Good _nyo_ , then you can get sailing immediately, on the big mermaid _nyo_ " Elder Nyon's words cut through Vivi's newly established courage like a red hot knife through butter.

"Huh?!"

"You didn't think of that? Better to be out looking for your fathers than stay where you are _nyo!_ "

"That's the exact opposite of better Nyon-san!" Viola cut in, her arms still firmly locked around Rebecca "There's seakings and Pirates and…"

"And they'll be on your island soon enough _nyo_ " Elder Nyon snapped, her patience running thin "Everyone in the New World will be looking for you, it's better to be on the move to somewhere you'll be safe instead of standing still _nyo!_ "

Viola bowed her head in defeat at the old womans reasoning "Well, we don't have any food or water here anyway" she eventually said with a faint nervous smile

"Even more reason to move then _nyo!_ "

* * *

(on the beach of another island)

Standing in the wreck of a burning pirate ship, the smoke obscuring his muscular form, a man stretched his long arms to the sky and yelled, his rage all too clear for the world to see.

"WHERE IN TARNATION IS THAT DAMN MERMAID?"

The other crew hadn't known a thing, their dolt of a captain, even if he had a devil fruit ability, hadn't even proven to be that much of a challenge, Sure the man had slowed him down a little, but in the end, the fat man hadn't even managed to make him sweat!

Looking over the wreckage of the crew, numerous as they were, a sight on the ground drew his attention.

The pirates' flag, an ugly thing, the head and crossbones being so uneven that it bordered on being abominable. The nose of the Jolly roger fit the crews' captains' at least, it hadn't done when before he had punched him of course, so he guessed he'd done his colleague somewhat of a favor. Though looking at the flag he could've done that by taking their flag away from them for good, but he hadn't been in the mood for that Davy Back fight thing, none of the opposing pirates had looked like he wanted anything to do with them, though the big ones had been funny to punch. Not to mention, the look of the other captain hadn't been the most trustworthy.

His mind drifted towards his own crew, so he turned on his heel and decided to go look for them, hoping they at least had some luck in finding their target.

Before he completely left the scene however he stopped by the defeated captain of the other crew, feeling an annoying sense of duty to at least address the man, even if he found him to be an idiot

"See you around Captain Foxy, when we do, I hope you'll tell me something useful"

And with that he left, leaving a still unconscious Foxy to awaken hours later to a thrashed ship, and some empty treasure chests….

* * *

(several hours later, in a harbour)

Nami was tired, or at least she was supposed to be, the amount of sleep she'd managed to get hadn't been nearly enough, but now adrenaline was forcing her to stay awake.

 _If I'd known this was what she'd meant, Luffy wouldn't have been dumb enough to…_ she thought, pinching the bridge of her nose, but to remove the last amount of sleep from the corners of her eyes and to relieve some of her stress.

Robins' plan made sense, even to Luffy, who'd apparently thought he'd have a larger role in it. He, to his chagrin, had been extremely wrong.

Nami did have a role in the plan however, so had Chopper, and JInbe and Robin herself. The rest of the crew were supposed to stay on the ship, much to their disappointment.

Sanji had wanted to protect Nami and Robin, But the archeologist had pointed out why it was those 4 that were going to have a part in the plan. Nami and Chopper could be inconspicuous, whereas people with large bounties like Luffy and Zoro would be like a light in the dark. Sanji and Usopp were also highend targets and as such should stay on the ship as well (which resulted in Usopp making a miraculous recovery from his _can't-go-on-this-island-disease_ and had made Sanji envious of the diminutive reindeer), Brook and Franky would naturally draw attention to themselves no matter where they went disguises or not. Aside from Zoro demanding to go into town for sake, everyone had accepted Robins' reasoning, even Luffy after being reminded that Sanji would be cooking dinner soon.

When reminded of her own and Jinbe's bounties however Robin had been calm, simply explaining that neither were going to be seen anyway.

Nami and Chopper might though.

And with that, the four of them had gone ashore, leaving for a nearby harbor town on a relatively small island. Nothing special about it really, except it served as a temporary stopping point for the marines' ships and housed a small base of theirs as well.

To Robin that wasn't something to worry about, as her plan called for her to simply infiltrate one, or some, of the marines' ships. After Jinbe had ferried her across the bay, she'd go over the marines' plans and see where they had been searching for the missing princesses and then make a hasty escape before she was discovered. If she were, Jinbe would be more than enough backup to escape if things got hairy. And in the unlikely event things went really bad, the rest of their nakama was on the Sunny for just that situation.

Nami and Choppers' jobs were to snoop around in the town and see what they could find. Not a dangerous task really, but Nami doubted that they'd get anything out of it really.

At the moment the two of them had found their way to a fairly large tavern in town. Big as it was, there were plenty of vacant tables, so the two of them simply sat down and ordered drinks, or in Choppers' case, a soft drink (which equaled more money for Namis' drinks).

What hadn't been going Namis' way was that Carrot had snuck along the pair, and had been almost uncontrollable ever since, going _garchu_ on pretty much everything within sight. It had gotten so bad, Nami had to bribe the rabbit mink with a massive amount of chocolate (which had the nasty side effect of setting her own drinking back somewhat).

At the moment the two animals were chatting amongst themselves about some of Carrots friends on Zou and how Pedro was doing. It fit Nami perfectly, it left her to do what she'd been sent to do: spy.

More precisely, spy on the conversation between two Marine captains that were sitting at a table behind the trios'.

She almost couldn't believe her luck when the two had entered the tavern. Normally, when they met marines, they had to either leave of fight, but the two captains, which no one within earshot would doubt, had just walked past them without as much as a sideward glance, which was really quite odd given Chopper and Carrots' looks.

Now the pair sat down, deep in conversation, although it was far too clear it was a one sided affair. One of the captains was a stickfigure of a man, his white jacket clashing with the black uniform and the large red tricorne on top of his head. But the tricorne went strangely well with the matching Katana at his belt.

Next to him, his colleague was his exact opposite, almost as wide as Jinbe, yellow uniform, green shoes, belt and marine cap, and no captain jacket, just a large musket that he'd put next to the table.

Where the stick figure was serious and direct, the JInbe-lookalike was relaxed, their conversation bespoke as much:

"Captain Jolland, would you please take your duties as a marine seriously!" the stickfigure said loudly "You are a marine now, not a innkeep!"

"Never was an innkeep Cliffy" the large Captain Jolland responded, not feeling the need to even move to respond to the condescending tone Cliffy had used

"It's REDCLIFF! Not Cliffy! And address me with a proper -Senpai, I've been doing this longer than you people who just got drafted recently" Redcliff responded angrily, rising from his seat to look down on the other captain "I was trained by the great Zephyr himself!"

Jolland on his part seemed both unimpressed about Redcliff's boast and unconcerned about his tone

"You know you can call me Joe right?" he said, raising hiss mug and drinking deeply "Speaking of the Neo Marines, didn't Rear Admiral Malta catch one of them recently?"

A brief moment of silence reigned, allowing Redcliff to sit down again, although he was still angry, not that Jolland seemed to care,only waving for the waitress for a new mug, asking for whatever they served to be brought as well. Nami reasoned that a man that size was bound to have a huge appetite, although she had yet to see that from JInbe.

"True, Rear Admiral Malta has recently caught Zephyrs second-in-command, Ain, And is planning to take her to the Marine base on Runny Rum Archiepelago"

Nami cringed. She remembered how Ain had turned her, Chopper and Robin 12 years younger during their first encounter with the Neomarines under Zephyr. It wasn't a particular painful memory, but the feeling of not being able to return the favor stung a little.

"So Malta is taking Ain to see Vice Admiral Gion eh? Three beautiful women on the same place, sounds like a good idea to visit" Jolland concluded with a chuckle

"…It's improper to have such ideas about your superiors Jolland" Redcliff reminded him, sipping his wineglass

"It's not for me, it's for the men! It'd be good for morale, especially after the blow it took after the whole Dressrosa affair" Jolland responded over the edge of his mug.

Redcliff could only nod his agreement. Nami could aswell, the whole situation with Doflamingo had hurt the Marines reputation more than a loss in a battle could have done.

"Which is why we must find those missing Princesses as soon as possible!" Redcliff concluded "We need this! The marines need this!"

"So… you got any idea where to look?"

At that, Redcliff just sank back into his seat "no…" he simply said dejected

"Don't worry about it, there's plenty of captains out on the sea looking right now, not to mention pirates" taking another swig of his mug, Nami could almost sense Jollands' smile "If one of them gets the princesses first, then it's just two birds one stone"

"True, I've been itching to test my new devil fruit in combat, a few pirates would make an adequate target"

Jolland seemed not to register what Redcliff had said, his attention drawn by the mountain of pies and sweet meats that the waitress brought, along with two new mugs and another wine glass for his companion "What you got Redcliff? Got a fine Zoan meself"

"….A Paramecia, the Fune-Fune No Mi, excellent for sea combat" Redcliff reluctantly responded, though Nami would have sworn that he was smiling haughtily none the less.

Burping loudly, Jolland leaned back in his chair, making the poor furniture creak under his massive girth. Redcliff merely snorted in response, disgusted by Jollands lack of tact. In sharp contrast Nami almost giggled, the big captain reminding her of her own crew somewhat.

"Anyway, were are you going to look after this? Rumour has it most pirates are searching around Runny Rum"

Putting down his glass with enough force to shatter the stem, Redcliff was speechless for a few moments, before his frantic voice rang out

"Which crews?"

"NO need to get worked up Cliffy, just heard that some of Big Mom's daughter had been seen around and the Ice Witch….uhm?" he trailed off, seemingly unable to recall anymore

"If there's anymore pirate scum around these waters, I want you to TELL ME JOLLAND!" At this Nami turned around, the captains outburst surprising her more than it should. The rest of the room occupants had the same thought, as all eyes turned to the two marines.

Redcliff hadn't noticed, having gotten up and was literally shaking Jolland by his collar. The larger man looked at his colleague with something resembling panic, his mouth moving at top speed

"Amadob and Hangan….. A-and Doma! Doma's definetly on Runny Rum! And some rookie pirates, I can't remember their names!"

Letting go of Jolland, Redcliff let him fall to the ground, while he straightened himself up, regaining some of his composure

"Four…." He began, gritting his teeth "Four crews that were at Marineford…. And some of big Moms' filthty offspring… That's _too much_ Yonko in one area!"

Taking several deep breaths, trying to calm down, Redcliff stepped away from Jolland, allowing the larger man to get up from the floor, dusting himself off

"We need to hurry! Runny Rum isn't that far, we can get there within a fortnight!" he said as he began to turn towards the door, not bothering with an apology for Jolland or for the other patrons "….those pirates have to be…." He trailed off, as when he had turned around, his eyes locked directly at the trio's table. Not surprising, a little reindeer and a Mink would naturally draw attention at some point, but his eyes were firmly set on Nami!

Nami reached for her staff, knowing all to well what was happening

"You three…. " Redcliff breathed deeply, licking his parched lips "…. You're Strawhats' MEN!" Redcliff half screamed, a finger pointing accusingly at the three

Nami knew that there was no way of convincing the wild eyed captain that he was wrong

* * *

(On Runny Rum)

"One more down…." Galette smiled happily

Her job on Runny Rum was running smoothly, having acquired one more potential subordinate crew for Mama was what she'd been sent to do, and not having to offer herself up was by far the best part of the job.

That and the sun, the delightful beach and the near endless supply of drinks she was having.

 _One of my brothers are going to be so happy when he hears this…. perhaps it'll be Mascarpone this time? Or perhaps Raisin, or maybe Snack, gods knows he need a wife to get his moods back up_ Galette gingerly thought to herself, sipping at her umpteenth daquiri that day _and one of Whitebeards old underlings too, Mama'll be happy when she hears this._

The thought of her stricken mother brought Galette somewhat out of her joy. Not knowing when or if she was going to wake up for good without any complications was a bother, but luckily Galette knew just the remedy for such thoughts:

More Daquiris!

And maybe watching some of the new meat on the beach...

it never hurt to know what was on the market afterall….

* * *

(On another Island, inside a small house)

"Damn, stupid, worthless, crap paper!" the woman in the rocking chair muttered to herself, looking down on the days newspaper, anger evident in her tone

"What is wrong Miss Fran?" a young girl asked innocently, her being all too used to Frans' displeasures, while she cleaned and dusted around her ramshackle house. Wiping a strand of blonde curly hair from her freckled face, the girl gave Fran a kind smile, hoping to

"More about those silly princesses" she said, rummaging through the mess of pens, scissors, trying to find something "Why can't the newspaper write something interesting? Like about my son… Or Dragon?"

"Well, what does the newspaper say about the missing Princesses miss Fran?" the girl asked politely, hoping to get to the bottom of what the eccentric woman was angry at this time

"Some nonsense about them getting captured by Pirates and meeting their fathers, Ysabel, damn nonsense"

"But meeting their fathers sounds like they'll be saved soon doesn't it? Pirates or not" Ysabel said in a soothing voice

"with two Kuja, that'll be a bit weird" Fran shot back, not bothering to lower to newspaper in front of her

"Weird how? Everyone has fathers miss"

"Kuja just travel around and meet men, use them and give birth to girls…. lucky bitches" Fran grumbled

"Miss Fran!" the young girl said shocked, the blush on her freckled face growing larger by the second "I don't' think that sort of language is appropriate around…."

"Damn lucky ho's, never having to bother with husbands…" Fran trailed off, ignoring Ysabels soothing words "or sons…. Or brothers…."

"I like my brothers…." Ysabel said, though it was barely a whisper "And If I had sons I'd love them too"

"Didn't say I didn't love them….. Except my brothers, but those two are a pain in the a…."

"Miss Fran!" Ysabel interrupted her, dropping her broom "Please not that kind of language! I'm going to be a proper lady someday and mom don't think that I ought to learn that kind of language"

"A proper lady doesn't say _mom_ , they say _mother,_ and why're you here if you drop your broom like that?" Fran corrected, folding her paper in front of her, and starting to get up "Why you people insist on cleaning my house and not knowing how to do it, I'll never know!"

Ysabel paled immediately as Fran got up. As the older woman made to walk towards her and _perhaps pick up the broom?!_

Grabbing the shaft so tightly that her knuckles turned white, Ysabel hurried with the cleaning, constantly reassuring the slightly baffled Fran, that there was no need to help and that she'd come get her another cup of tea in a moment.

All that left for Fran, was to sit back in her chair, with a slightly annoyed look on her face

"Why the hell do they all get like that, when I start to do _anything_?"

* * *

(on the sea)

"YES!" the three kings yelled in unison, surprising their nearby retainers.

Pell didn't know what to make of the sight of three overjoyed sovereigns: Riku danced around with Neptune and his own liege Cobra was crying tears of joy.

Picking up the newspaper Pell soon realized why

"Some soothsayer has said your daughters, and granddaughter," he added quickly "will be reunited with their fathers…"

"That's wonderful! Congratulations Guys!" Elizabello II smiled while he put an arm around a relieved Riku's shoulders, padding his old friend with a gloved hand.

"My pardons your highnesses, but can we trust this Madame Shyarly's words?"

"Of Course!" Neptune said as he waved his hand dismissively "Madame Shyarly has only been wrong once!, She foresaw the great Pirate Age and Whitebeard's death, She is undoubtedly right about this as well"

"Very well your majesty….. But it also says that they'll be captured by pirates…." He let the statement hang in the air, though it didn't faze the kings much

"Both Viola and Rebacca are strong women, I have no doubt they'll triumph " Riku responded, his previous happiness replaced by a stone hard determination.

"My daughter can handle a few pirates!" Cobra coughed from his wheelchair, making a worried Pell rush too his side asking if his liege needed anything.

Meanwhile Neptune was silent, which surprisingly caught the attention of Elizabello

"What's troubling you?"

Sighing the huge fishman turned towards his human colleague "My daughter is, despite her size…. Not made of the same staunch stuff as Riku and Cobra's daughters are blessed with, I fear for her…." He trailed off, seemingly not certain what to say next

Elizabello merely padded the merman on the shoulder, which, despite his own prodigious size, was all that he could reach.

Fortunately, since they'd heard from Elder Nyon that their daughters were all well, although they didn't know where they were either, morale had been high.

Pell knew that in a situation like this, every light in the darkness felt like a herald for a brighter dawn, but in the New World dangers could be as close as ones own breath, they couldn't allow themselves to lower their guard and think themselves safe.

Not yet at least.

When the Vinsmokes came over and congratulated them on the good news, It wasn't lost on Pell, that they made certain to strike up smalltalk with the kings, asking seemingly innocent questions about their families and homecountries.

It seemed danger was already closing in on them, although he didn't know what sort yet...

* * *

(in the tavern)

Nami had her clima-tact ready

Not daring to trun her head and look, she could only assume that Chopper and Carrot had prepared for the inevitable fight they were going to have.

A good tactic in this situation was to make sure that tey put as much ground between themselves and the two captains as possibly. Since only Jolland had a flintlock, not to mention that Zoan fruits weren't know to be great at range, and Redcliff was only armed with a sword, they should be able to get out of the situation relatively fast.

All they had to do was move fast!

Redcliff continued to point at the trio as more and more of the of the taverns patrons scuttled out of the room, intent on not getting in the middle of this.

"Surrender now and you'll be given a quick execution!" Redcliff's voice rang out, his excitement making it sound high-pitched and girly.

"Thanks, but I think we'll just leave" Nami responded, gritting her teeth at the men in front of her. Jolland had yet to reach for his flintlock, _good_ thought Nami, it meant they could get out of this fast!

"As you wish" Redcliff sneered

Nami Starred in horror as the Captains' arm turned into a cannon, aimed straight at her

"SALVO!" Redcliff shouted,

And his cannon-arm spewed a cloud of smoke, fire and lead…..

* * *

Second chapter of this fic

Sorry it took a while to update, but I've been a little busy lately

 **Threads in this chapter that did major things**

Strawhats:

The princesses: Viola, Rebecca, Vivi, Shirahoshi and the two Kuja

Some princess hunters (The Foxy pirates aren't much active as of this chapter), while another unknow group is still active

The kings

The marines: Redcliff and Jolland

The Big Mom pirates have only been marginally active this chapter, as have some independents, their cameos was really more of an update of what they're doing frankly.

 **My little OC's this chapter**

Captain Jolland is somewhat named after the battle of Jutland during WWI: his Zoan fruit will be revealed in the next chapter

While Captain Redcliff is named after Battle of Red cliffs in China back in 208-9 AC. His Paramecia fruit, the Fune-fune No Mi (Ship-ship fruit) will be fleshed more out in the next chapter.

Fran will make a proper introduction and be fleshed out more later.

I hope you've enjoyed the chapter,

until next time, RnR please


	3. chapter 3: Scouting and setting a course

Blood Ties like Iron chains Chapter 3

 _Scouting and setting a course_

* * *

 **(inside a tavern)**

Nami starred into the cannon as it fired a black gust of smoke and flame, and a spiked cannonball!

She was so captivated by the sight that she barely felt a hoof and a hand on her shoulders, dragging her backwards.

In the next moment, all Nami saw was the brown coat of Chopper, His Guard Point having stopped the Cannonball from connecting with her face, which would have torn the whole head clean off!

With a breath caught in her throat, Nami almost couldn't believe her luck, and for a moment she couldn't even think, her mind clouded by fear, excitement and relief mixed together, making the characteristic brew of an adventure that had yet to end.

A brew Nami was forced to take another sip of, as somewhere on the other side of Chopper, Redcliff swore, and if the hissing sound was any indication, had drawn his sword and charged.

Carrot jumped backwards and to the side, taking Nami with her and Out of reach of the slashing marine, Chopper, meanwhile, changed out of his Guard Point and into his much more versatile Kung Fu Point, avoiding Redclifffs' sword swings as quickly as the marine could deliver them.

Further back, Jolland had gotten hold of his flintlock, and was taking aim at Nami and Carrot!

Fortunately Carrot was faster than Jollands' bullet, and the projectile only made a crack in the wall as a result.

Seemingly judging that he hadn't the time to reload, Jolland ditched the rifle and…. Crouched?

Nami only understood a moment later as he crashed into the wall next to her and Carrot, the mink barely having time to dodge to the side.

When he emerged a moment later, he had actually grown in size! Judging from his skin turning warty and a greenish brown, not to mention the longer legs and feet, Nami concluded that his Zoan fruit was some sort of frog or toad type.

Which meant they'd have good shot of defeating him with a giant frog eating bird…..

or cold!

Tightening her grip on the clima-tact Nami aimed at the huge amphibian-man as he emerged from the hole he'd made in the wall,

"YUKIGUMO!"

The captain croaked in surprise when the snowstorm hit him square in the face, blasting him through the wall and sealing the hole shut with a new wall of ice.

In the middle of the room, Chopper wasn't making any progress with Redcliff, the overzealous captain being all too unwilling to let the shapeshifting reindeer leave alive.

Seeing that his comrade had been put out of commission, for good it seemed, he sneered and jumped backwards

"Can't let you no-good scum leave!" he snarled, just as several cannon-mouths began to form across his body, aimed directly at the trio

"Oh come on!" Nami said to herself just as Redcliff smiled in a way that reminded her of Arlong all too well

"BARRAGE!" Redcliff yelled triumphantly

* * *

 **(On the Sunny)**

"SANJIIIII FOOOOOD!" Normally it was only Luffy that would annoy Sanji like that, yelling for food like nothing else mattered, but today most other men on the ship had been grounded because of Robin-chans plan called for them to be on standby…..

Robin-chans plan was, of course, perfect, _it couldn't be anything else, a woman made it after all_ , it was the others that wasn't willing to follow it to the letter! Carrot had jumped ship before anyone could stop her (Admittedly the perfect plan had a minor snatch built into it, as Sanji not-so-secretly believed that he could do the job of getting Robin-chan to the marines' ships better than Jinbe **AND** protect Nami-scwann at the same time!)

Twice he'd had to stop that stupid swordsman from jumping ship to get more Sake, and even once preventing Luffy from taking the minisub and go exploring down in the deep bellow the ship.

Now he was slavering away over his stove, trying to prevent the others from interrupting Robin-chans amazing plan with their shenaningans.

Luffy had taken it in stride, but the damn swordsman had had the gall to call him a hypocrite for saying they should follow a plan, and when pressed on the matter he'd explained that a guy that left the crew in the middle of their fight with Doflamingo just to _get-married-to-some-girl-because-daddy-said-so_ wasn't one to talk about following orders!

Sanji had been all too close to attack him and make even his stupide green hair change colour. How dared he call Pudding-chan _some girl_?!

She was beautiful; great posture and smile and especially her third eye, _the most brilliantly shinning one_ , made him weak in the knees….

Unfortunately getting distracted with thoughts of women while working with deep frying wasn't the most optimal or safe situation…

Which he only realised when Brook doused his flaming suit in water,

Which was never a good idea to combine with hot oil…..

* * *

 **(On the sea)**

Pudding trembled,

Then she blushed and felt a cold run down her spine, before it was replaced by a strange comforting warmth.

She didn't realize it until after Stussy asked, but she had been smiling goofily, looking into the distance with a half empty look in her eyes.

Now she was staring into the bathroom mirror, trying to make the blush go away, but only managed to grow more nervous.

On the other side of the door, Pudding could hear Stussy chuckle about something in the newspaper. Pudding didn't know how, but the woman could make it sound so condescendingly yet warmly that it belied belief. The Queen of the Pleasure District had some sort of deep seated contrast within her, that made her appear both innocent and as sweet as sin at the same time. Yet the intellect that enabled her to play either side within, thus controlling people without, made her a truly dangerous person to deal with.

Pudding knew she was in for a tough job, trying to spy on this woman.

Looking back into the mirror she steeled herself so she could go back into the fray!

Although the shiver that went down her spine when Stussy asked if she had been thinking of her almost-husband, _the one that got away_ , hadn't helped her composure.

* * *

 **(In the tavern)**

Fortunately for the trio, Chopper proved to be faster than Redcliff yet again.

Transforming into his Guard Point, his thick fur prevented the hail of cannonballs from hitting either of his nakama.

Redcliff swore and gritted his teeth, unhappy with his intended massacre run out into the reindeers' fur.

Nami and Carrot, both unwilling to let the marine shoot another volley, moved in to outflank him.

Looking back and forth between the three pirates Redcliffs' face became downcast, what was visible beneath his red tricorne made it look like he was having a nasty case of constipation.

Redcliff might be a frenzied Marine, but he could apparently recognize when he was in a tactical disadvantage. He slowly, but surely, began to inch backwards towards the bar, away for the circling pirates, sword held in front of him, holding his opponents at bay.

Unfortunately, walking backwards prevents seeing where you're going.

Tripping on a broken bottle, the marine captain lost his footing momentarily. Even as he swung his arms and sword to regain his balance, Redcliff saw, to his increased panic, a huge hairy fist coming straight for him.

Chopper hit the man in the chest, narrowly avoiding the marine's swift blade. Said marine was flung backwards by the blow, sending him to the other end of the room, crashing into the wall.

Even as he seemed to lose consciousness, the trio could hear a rustle and scratching in the ice sealed wall.

"We better get a move on!"

Nami and Carrot had no objections.

Even if the battle had been short, it had also attracted the attention of the entire town, and soon, also the other marines in town.

* * *

 **(On the marine ship _The Marvellous Manatee_ )**

Robin smiled to herself as she rummaged through the stack of papers in the captains' study.

 _This is so much better_ she mused, the captain of the other ship she and Jinbe had infiltrated, the _Vigilant Vanquisher_ , commandeered by a captain Redcliff, had been very well ordered, but the many wanted posters that had been repeatedly stabbed with a knife (some of them still had the knives in them, not to mention bulletholes!) wasn't the most pleasant of sights, And Robin had seen some really cruel things!

This Captain Jolland wasn't as well ordered, but he kept his paperwork in a decent manner (though the coffee- and fat stains on them could make it hard to see what it had originally said) and Robin soon had what she was looking for.

Maps and reports, the foundation of any good intelligence.

Quickly writing down a few notes she was interrupted by the sound of a bell in the distance. Given the shouts of alarm from the marines onboard the ship, Robin assumed that something was happening in the town.

Deciding against subtlety Robin snatched up as many reports and maps as she could and made for the window.

Crawling out of it, she activated her devilfruit powers, forming a stair of arms on the ships' hull and began to descend, carefully.

Down in the water Jinbe was already waiting for her, looking anxiously from Robin to the rest of the ship, determined to notice the marines before they noticed them. After she'd climbed down and strapped herself to the Fishmans' broad back, the pair took their leave.

The situation with the town did one good thing though, it gave the marines a fixed point to concentrate on, which meant that Jinbe could disregard any notions of stealth and get away much faster.

Though that wasn't the same for Nami and the others...

* * *

( **in the town)**

The trio had hidden themselves in a small alley, not that far away from the tavern.

They didn't make it further because the marines had been nearby the entire time.

 _Figures_ Nami thought _two captains can't just go for a few beers, they have to have an entourage for everything!_

Looking down the street towards the tavern she noticed two things, two _potentially_ really bad things:

1\. The captains had already recovered and were out shouting orders left and right (at least Redcliff was, Jolland was still shivering from the ice blast)

2\. The trio had left behind a trail, a red trail…..

Turning around, Nami saw the source.

Chopper had been hit in the arm by several shots and a few had managed to penetrate his fur.

"Did that happen between transformations?"

"Yeah, but don't worry Nami, the wounds aren't that deep, it'll heal quickly, Be quiet Carrot!"

The reindeer was already tying up the wounds with strips of cloth made from Carrots' dress. Naturally the mink wasn't entirely happy about that either, but she kept her trap shut (one of the rare times that Choppers' " _Doctors' orders_ " were actually followed!) albeit reluctantly. When Chopper had finished his bandage, Carrots dress had turned into an orange tanktop and miniskirt.

"That doesn't look bad on you Carrot" Nami mused "But we better get back to the Sunny so you can get some proper clothes"

"Why not just buy it in there?" Carrot pointed behind them. Nami smiled as she understood her point. The other end of the alley opened up to a smaller street, directly opposite a clothing store. A useful hiding place, and somewhere to get a disguise. Hopefully cheap.

Although Nami knew it really wasn't as much a matter of hopeful chance, as much as _stubborn haggling_ when she was involved…

* * *

 **(on the Sunny)**

Having arrived safely back at the Ship (and in excellent time to booth!) the sight that met Jinbe and Robin wasn't exactly one they'd expected.

Part of the ship was on fire for starters.

And while Zoro, Franky and Luffy (surprisingly the captain wasn't messing up the situation) hurried to put out the fire, the chef, the Musician and the Sniper, were all arguing (and soon to be fighting it seemed) over whom was responsibly for the fire in the first place, although Usopp was more concerned with trying to bandage Sanjis' burns. A task made harder by the chef trying to strangle the musician, who, due to lack of neck flesh, only got his tuxedo slightly wrinkled.

"It was your fault, you _damn bag of bones_!"

"You were on fire! Should I have let you burn to the bone? _And look_ _Like me?!_ " Brooke retorted, his skull features twitched into something resembling frustration and offence.

"It's common sense not to use water **near boiling oil**!"

"It's common sense _**not to set yourself on fire**_!"

"What's going on here?"

Although Robins voice was even, it still rang out across the deck like a foghorn, demanding her comrades' full attention.

"Haven't you heard that there's cannons firing in town?"

After that, it didn't take the crew long to mount a relief team, led by Luffy, and a group that would take care of the ship, led by Robin.

Although Sanji made a fuzz about wanting to go save Nami-scwann, he wasn't disagreeing with Robin's argument that he could be more helpful on the ship, making sure nothing in the kitchen got destroyed by either Franky (who as the shipwright was the most qualified for the job) or Usopp (whom had gotten a nasty case of "I-can't-go-on-this-island-disease" (though Robin thought it was all about wanting to avoid the marines, his new bounty and all)).

The rest left on the submersible (Zoro and Brook(the former wanting a drink in town, the latter insisting that he could feel panties)) while Luffy thought it'd be funier riding to town on Jinbe's back. And since it was " _captains orders_ ", Jinbe felt he needed to oblige (for a (fish)man that had been a captain of his own crew, Jinbe was surprisingly obedient).

Seeing the team make good speed towards the island, Robin hoped that they wouldn't arrive too late….

* * *

 **(in town)**

Nami frowned as she concealed herself amongst the stores' wares.

The shop was maintained by a young girl, barely 17 it seemed, with so many freckles beneath her red locks, she resembled a Dalmatian. It had been easy to persuade the newspaper reading girl (recognizing Nami from her wanted poster) that she shouldn't try to alert the marines of their presence, and so far she hadn't. But the marines hadn't come looking for them in the store yet either….

The girl really didn't deserve the trio dragging her into the situation, but they needed a place to hide, for the time being at least. Which hopefully wouldn't be long, but when looking at Carrot playing dressup with Chopper, it seemed to Nami that they might be a while.

Snatching up the newspaper to calm her idle mind, Nami began to rummage through it. The only thing it said about the missing princesses was that the marines were still searching and would find the damsels soon ( _yeah right_!).

A quick glance of the different headlines didn't stir her interest

" _Forrest octopus season is neigh, don't bathe in these forrest lakes"_ (weird world...)

" _Black Market dealer found dead, investigation impending, authorities are speculating assassination_ " (go figure)

" _Large Pirate Crew escapes justice_ "

" _Where are they now, the former Subordinates of the Whitebeard Pirates_ "

The newspapers other content was the usual stuff: commercials

" _Fancy women dress in the CRIMINAL way_!"

" _Beautiful beaches and more beautiful women on Runny Rum Archiepelago_ "

" _Straight from Tottoland, Choco Tea, try it and you'll want to move there, Yonko or not_ "

After reading the last one Nami shivered, if she never stepped foot on Tottoland again she'd be more than happy, but Luffy was hellbent on fighting her again at some point so she was bound to see that weird wonderland again. Thinking about it, Nami realised she actually hadn't made a map of the place yet, she'd been too preoccupied with getting off the place alive!

Pinching the bridge of her nose, Nami cringed at the thought of returning. Big Mom's offspring had been almost more than they could handle last time, but the Yonko herself was a far above their abilities, even if they were at full strength. But then again, she didn't know how powerful the rest of their new _grandfleet_ was.

Nami chuckled, she'd never thought that their crew, would ever have underlings, and so many, over 7000 people….

The giants had been a surprise, and according to Usopp there were dwarves too, not to mention a slew of other people and with the addition of the Sun Pirates, they now had fishmen amongst their ranks aswell. She wondered briefly who she'd meet next.

"Nami what about you? Shouldn't you find something to wear?"

Turning to Chopper, Nami could only stare dumbfounded at the reindeer.

Chopper still wore his hat, but now wore a bright jacket with pink and orange stripes, small green tassels on the sleeves reaching down to his knees.

Blinking, Nami turned to look at Carrot instead, trying to avoid the fashionable travesty in front of her.

It was a mistake.

Carrot seemingly didn't know fashion either: the bright blue dress wasn't so bad, it was the large green-red afro shaped hairband that made her stand out like a fire in the dark.

Nami's eyebrow twitched, and behind her, she could hear the girl gasp and try to stifle a giggle.

Pushing the reindeer and Mink back in the changing rooms and giving them some normal clothes, a short yellow dress with a small cloak and cloak to hide her ears for Carrot, and for Chopper, a large white hood and a fake moustache would do the trick for him.

Nami quickly put on a white shirt herself, some long black pants and finished the look off with a fedora and a tuxedo jacket (If Pez could see her now, Nami was sure her little godson would mistake her for Bege).

When she was done, Nami grabbed her stuff and swifly walked past the blushing girl at the counter (Nami wasn't one to bother with a changing room when the situation required it) to look out the window.

"Coasts' clear you two, lets get a move on!"

Her animalistic companions didn't argue (fortunately for them) and the trio was soon out the door again.

In the shop the girl starred wild eyed after them, before the penny dropped

"Hey, like, you gotta pay for all that! And, like, give me back my paper! Thieves!"

* * *

 **(outside)**

Nami urged the two to run when there were no marines around, otherwise they took it slow, walking towards edge of town, far away from the tavern, and hopefully the two captains.

They'd passed three patrols of Marines already, and they could hear more running around town, but no gunfire, which was both a relief and a problem.

If the marines heard guns, assuming it was the Strawhats, they'd run towards them, and make it easier to slip away.

But they hadn't had that kind of luck yet.

And the increased noise from the streets around them, of running and shouting alert and armed marines, made it all too clear that they would run into trouble soon.

* * *

 **(En route to town)**

Zoro would never admit it, but he honestly liked Brook.

The reason why was simply, they were both swordsmen, bound by a code that most people who'd ever wielded a blade couldn't comprehend, to fight honourably with their swords, to take any damage that should come in their direction and die if need be for their comrades and ideals.

In short, thy understood eachother…..

"If you fart one more time, I'm going to turn you into a scabbard!"

"A scabbard made of bones, do you really want that ? Yohohohoho"

Now wasn't one of those times unfortunately, and Zoro could only scowl at the animated skeleton as the submersible made it's way towards their destination.

 _At least…._ Zoro thought to himself _We agree that we got to save our friends…._

 _And get some sake!_

* * *

 **(in town)**

The patrols had been increasing even more.

Nami was certain that they'd be discovered soon, especially when they'd had to hide behind a corner as a dozen marines stormed down the street, rambling to eachother that they'd received new discriptions from a shop that had been robbed.

Nami grimaced "Damn, we forgot to pay the clerk…"

"We could switch to our other disguises now then right?"

Nami stared dumbfound at Carrot with a small tremble creeping into her eyebrow "You mean that you kept those…. _Things_?"

"Sure!" the Mink beamed back at her before she pulled her hairband out of her backpack, along with Choppers gaudy jacket.

Nami could only watch in despair as the pair hastily donned the outfits, their joy making them deaf to her warnings and protests.

"We're done for…." She whimpered, before hurrying the two out on the street again.

So on they went, now looking considerably more inconspicuous…..

The amount of stares the trio gained from now was considerable.

Nami was used to being stared at because of her looks, but being in company with this pair of goofs, looking like clowns, combined with her own clothes, made her appear to be part of a circus act. She blushed from embarrassment and tried in vain to hide it beneath the fedora.

Finally getting to the towns outskirts, Nami began to brighten up a little

"We might actually make it" she thought, before turning a corner and looking stunned at the town gates.

"Of course… They've put up a checkpoint"

The street opened up into a small plaza before the arching stone gate where at least 12 marines stood guard with an additional six town militia (which basically meant that they had swords and knew what was the pointy end) that was usually posted as guard. Now that group hadn't given them any trouble coming into town, one pretty girl got a free pass pretty much everywhere public (a smile and an pout and another girl doing the same helped too), but the patrol of marines that had just arrived forced even the militia to liven up.

And then there was the captain….

Fortunately it wasn't the maniacal Redcliff, but Jolland, big and calm and not all that attentive Jolland.

Nami smiled as she saw what state the marine was in, he obviously wasn't the most robust man, his trip through the wall and Nami's iceblast had done him few favors, evident from the bandages that covered his chest and the heating packs on his head and swollen face.

The swelling was likely to obstruct his vision, and the bandages and the constant fuzz of the doctor wasn't likely to help him stay focussed.

Nami looked past the captain at beach on the other side. If they could get past Jolland, they were in the clear and could return to the others without further trouble or delays.

Steeling her nerves, she quickly explained the situation to her friends, both of whom, fortunately, offered little protests, although, as Chopper pointed out, they could just jump over the wall out of sight of the gate.

But as they explored that plan, they found that sentries had also been posted along the entire walls length, in close proximity to eachother no less.

"Seems they take us pretty seriously…." Nami grumbled as the trio returned to the gate

"They must've enlisted normal townspeople" Chopper confided

"Townspeople….. the sea is such a wonderland…." Carrot gushed at the thought.

Nami gave her a puzzled look before concluding that the mink wasn't used to other towns than what was on Zou, and even something as common as this would feel incredibly to her. Even Nami's own little mundane home island would probably awe the young mink.

Pushing the thoughts of home and different people's definition of normal aside, Nami calmly led the two others towards the gate, or at least she tried to stay calm, the thought of walking so close to a group of marines wasn't exactly appealing without one of the monster trio to take care of any eventual aggression. But the again either of those three were likely to make everything worse, Luffy and Zoro would fight for the fun of it and Sanji would be too focussed on either Nami (much to her consternation) or Carrot (he'd even tried to give her a garchu goodbye as they left the sunny).

Pushing such thoughts aside she took a deep breath and boldly strode towards the gate, making sure she wasn't aiming not at the guards in front of it, but the gate behind them.

As such none of the guards actually stopped them as they approached the exit, they did look funnily at them though, the trio having changed their previous outfits seemed to confuse the marines, despite that they technically had Nami's description.

Jolland barely took the time to register that there was people exiting, instead focussing on the doctor that was redoing the bandage across his face. All Jolland did was wave them past and comment on that he didn't know circus was in town.

The trio were almost at the gate when they heard a loud boom, and the top of the gate exploded in a rain of debris making everyone around it seek cover.

"JOLLAND YOU FOOL! THAT'S THE PIRATES WE'RE AFTER!" Redcliff shouted loudly from the other end of the small plaza, one of his arms ending in a cannon that was still smoking and the other ending in a chain and anchor.

Jolland spared no time and ripped the bandages from his puffed up face, getting a clear view of whom he was dealing with and what was going on. The rest of the marines, the ones that wasn't still rattled by the explosion that is, got up and aimed their guns at the trio.

It quickly became clear to Nami that there was no safe way out of this pickle. Even with Chopper's guard point or Carrots speed, it would take a miracle to get out alive.

The trio could only look as the marines tightened their circle around them, making escape impossible.

* * *

 **(On Runny Rum Arcchiepelago)**

Galette sighed and almost slammed her head down on the table. Next to her, Amande puffed on her cigarette, seemingly uninterested in what had transpired, getting up from her seat and procuring a drink from the minibar in their hotel room.

This had been a tough one, lots of haggling back and forth,

discussing the possibilities for a marriage to seal the contracts,

whom would be the prospective bride (depending on age and looks (and personality, thought that rarely figured in men's mind when they thought of women))

what his possible position in Tottoland would be,

where he could stay while Mama decided whether he was good enough for the crew,

under what Sweet Commander he'd serve (somehow the vast majorities of new allies wanted to be under Katakuri, but Galette couldn't possibly fault them for that, but she could fault this guy for wanting to be under Cracker for gods knew what reason).

But at least it was another potential crew under Big Mom. And one that used to be good enough for that old chauvinist Whitebeard wasn't a bad card at all.

The possibly best part was that he'd almost agreed to join them without Galette having to offer up one of her precious sisters for this fat brutes' bumbling embrace. For this simpleton it meant a lot that he was cousins with some of her siblings (not surprising, with Mama's prodigious marriages, Galette herself (indeed all of her siblings) was bound to have a dozen cousins somewhere too).

The problems had arisen when he'd demanded that one of his cousins come escort him Back to Totto land. So now Galette had to call up Brownie and see if, her (perhaps) laziest little brother would get up from one of his nap and actually perform his duties for a change.

Being the younger sister of the two, it fell to Galette to do most of the work, Amande's personality made sure it was all the work as well. Not that she was pushy or lazy, Amande's withdrawn attitude towards most things just made Galette more suited for _bureaucracy_.

Picking up the Den Den mushi, Galette waited for a few aggravating seconds (all waiting's tough when you're tired, and in Galette's case, slightly hungover) before someone finally picked up and answered.

"Who's this?" a wonderful and soothingly familiar female voice rang out from the snail, making Galette almost smile.

"Hello Sister Smoothie, it's Galette and Amande"

"That's funny, I was just about to call you…."

"Really? What for?" Galette sat up fear plain on her face "Did something happen in Tottoland? Is it Poire? Mama? Brother Katakuri?" Galtette's near panic for her family rose aalmost with each word spoken, making Amande hurry to her side

"NO! Nothing bad has happened" Smoothie hurried to correct her younger sister, hoping to avoid a panic attack.

A moment later a meaty sound flowed lazily through the room.

"Big Sis Amande, don't hit Galette…" Smoothie's tired but soothing voice purred through the snail, the sweet commander not having a hard time imagining what had transpired. Amande didn't respond, only puffing on her cigarette, but leaving Galette to rub the side of her head at least.

"But what is it? Are we getting racelled back to Tottoland" Galette said the last with a slightly worry in her voice, not being completely willing to part from the bar service, beaches and the sun just yet.

"No Mama has woken up…."

"WoWondernderfulful, howhow isis MamaMama?" both Galette and Amande had spoken in unison, their words mingling into becoming incoherent. Smoothie could figure out what her sisters said though, being all too used to siblings speaking at the same time to be confused by it.

"She, um, killed three toilets so far…." Smoothie began, not sure how to put it more candidly

"Oh…." Neither Galette nor Amande needed any elaboration on that subject,, instead only wondering slightly why Mama kept putting souls in the bathroom equipment (either had on more than one occasion heard sisters complain about male showerheads, Smoothie in particular had a problem with that)

"…So how is Brother Katakuri?" Amande changed the subject, hoping to get the image of Big Mom on the can out of her head.

"Oh he's better, much better in fact, he got over his initial crush as soon as he woke up" Smoothie explained, relieved to change the subject of the Tottoland bathroom facilities "He's actually getting ready for his merrienda as we speak"

Both sisters were relieved to hear that, smilling to themselves, not being surprised in the least, after all Katakuri was their perfect elder brother.

"But Mama has heard about what we've been up to"

Both Amande and Galette looked down at the den den mushi, eager to hear more, neither daring to interrupt their sister

"She's not displeased, but….. not on board completely either…."

Either sister pouted at that, not knowing whether their working vacation was to be cut short and they were to return to Tottoland and their regular duties or not.

"You'll remain there for the time being, Mama wasn't unhappy about the possible subordinate you netted yesterday"

"Excellent so….."

"I'm not finished Galette, Mama'll still have to consider if that girl is good enough for one of our brothers and if her father is good enough to have as an ally, now, why did you call?"

Galette quickly explained what had transpired and Smoothie agreed to send Brownie immediately.

With that the conversation ended, and Galette leaned back in her chair

"You know what I can go for now sister?" the redhead blurted out

"Another of your endless daiquiris?" Amande was tired too, so her voice took a note that made it sound almost scolding or berating

"….. I was actually thinking about a trip back to the beach, I don't think that crowned pig is there anymore and most of the young stallions will be leaving for the dances soon anyhow, so…" She let it hang in the air, hoping her elder sibling would get the hint

"…..Perfect time for a swim"

"….followed by a dinner at the gourmet restaurant _Club Beæuf_ "

"Hmm, sounds almost too tempting" Amande cracked a rare smile, a moment later, she blew a smoke ring and chuckled "let's go!"

* * *

 **(in the town)**

Redcliff pointed his cannon straight at the trio, smiling maniacly as he did so. Only standing some 10 meters away and with his target surrounded on all sides by marines with guns, there was practically no way for him to miss.

He wasn't the only one to realise it, the marines parting in front of the ruined gate, the debris and dust in the air making it thick as smoke, making it impossible for anyone to see if there was any obstructions on the other side.

Jolland was so confident in their predicament, he hadn't even drawn his rifle. A cannon was enough anyway.

Redcliff smiled as he took a confident step forward, his beady black eyes never leaving the trio, not even allowing himself to blink, lest his targets move.

"You thought you could get away, didn't you?"

Looking at his face, Nami dearly wished they had, the way the captains smile worked with his redshot eyes and the bead of sweat that was running lazily down his temple from beneath the red tricorne made him appear like something out of a fever dream.

Nami could tell that some marines felt the same way but ignored it, either due to a shared disgust of pirates or just plain sadism. Judging from their smiles, if Nami were to guess the marines were split about 50/50 on that scale.

"like you could sneak past us marines" Redcliff continued "dressed like a circus act!"

His remark drew a few more smiles and even a snicker from Jolland

"Pirates really have sunk to new depths, dressing like clowns and stealing newspapers, do you sail on a raft too?"

That drew roars of laughter from the marines, not happy laughs, but condescending ones. The kind were they knew they had won no matter what, And Nami was forced to agree with them.

"Prepare to fire at my command!" Redcliff thundered

"Sure you don't want to use them as bait Cliffy? Lure out Strawhat himself?"

Redcliff didn't even correct Jolland this time, nor look away from Nami and the others

"No, better to remove these pirate scum first and go hunt him down later"

"You're an _a-good-pirate's-a-dead-pirate_ captain huh?"

"Don't be silly, there are no good pirates….. there's only… absolute justice…." Nami really didn't like Redcliffs smile now

"Aim!"

 _This is it_! Nami thought as the marines obeyed the command, some twitching their fingers and licking their lips in anticipation. Jolland merely looked at them with a sort of stoic indifference.

"SHISHISHISHISHISHISHI! Where'd you get those clothes? SHishishishi!"

Nami couldn't believe what she was hearing (in truth she could believe it, but more the sound of the voice and not what was being said) and neither could the marines, looking dumbfound at the two figures that walked towards the shattered gate.

A human and a fishman

A captain and a helmsman

Luffy and Jinbe.

The marines recognised them almost immediately, some shringking back, thinking (and being right to do so) themselves outmatched, others clutching their weapons until their knuckles turned white and started to tremble. Others simply stared at the pair, not being certain what to do.

Jolland was one of them, Redcliff wasn't

"STRAWHAT! FIRE AT STRAWHAT! AND THE TRAITOR SCUM!"

Most obeyed that order, aiming their guns and Luffy and firing, others did the same at Jinbe, no one seemed to care for Nami, Chopper and Carrot anymore.

Nami wasn't late to capitalise on that advantage, holding onto Chopper and Carrot she dived for safety behind the wall, knowing full well what would happen if any of the bullets actually hit Luffy.

Looking from her cover, she could see that no projectiles had done so however, the blockhead captain of hers simply stepping aside from the bulllets trajectory, letting them pass by him unopposed. Nami was faintly aware that wasn't the case further behind him, small " _ting_ " ringing out as the shot hit metal in the distance". The bullet that went Jinbe's way fared little better, hitting, but hitting Haki-infused skin and doing no damage what so ever.

The Marines would soon be out of bullets.

They seemed to realise it too, switching to swords, cutlasses and clubs to engage the pirates in melee.

Knowing both Luffy and Jinbe, Nami could calmly conclude that it was a big mistake on their part, and as the first wave was thrown back in an instant, so did the marines.

Redcliff was fuming at the sight, his advantage having disappeared like morning mist in a storm, his subordinates being scattered to the wind and with it, his chances of victory.

Jolland aimed his rifle in a last attempt to land a hit on Luffy, he succeeded, but the bullet only returned, destroying the marines' rifle in an explosion of wooden splinters and metal shrapnel, which in turn gave Jolland a large amounts of minor cut in his face.

Redcliff could only watch and grit his teeth in frustration.

"Justice… Justice must succeed!" he muttered under his breath, barely audible from the sound of mens flying screaming through the air, as another wave of marines was hit back, prompting the militia to run away in fear.

"STRAWHAT!" Redcliff shouted above the din of sailors moaning in pain and stone cracking from men landing upon them "Surrender now!..." He aimed his cannon arm at Nami, Chopper and Carrot "Or I'll shoot them!"

Nami looked horrified at the marine, his eyes looking frantically from The trio to Luffy and back again, trembling slightly.

"Why haven't you guys moved?"

"We've been trying to avoid getting shot you MORON!" Nami shouted back "Chopper's wounded too!"

Luffy didn't look happy at that news

"Did you do that?" the question was aimed at Redcliff, who smiled sinisterly back at the Strawhat captain "If you're not prepared to bleed in combat you shouldn't fight" he swallowed "Last chance Strawhat, surrender, or I'll shoot your little witch and pets!" around behind Redcliff, Jolland had roused the marines, whom were now moving forward, but with more caution this time than before.

His eyes hadn't left Luffy for all this time, fortunately, it hadn't gone unnoticed, after feeling an arm around her waist, Nami suddenly found herself high up in the air, with Chopper next to her.

Carrot! Was all Nami could think of as the moved onto the other side of the wall. Below her Nami could see her comrades look up at her with surprise mingling with smiles on their faces, in sharp contrast ot the marines' scowls.

Redcliff was still aiming at them, tracking their trajectory with his cannon arm.

"Bomb Salvo!" he howled as the cannon boomed, a cannonball the size of a Choppers' head speeding towards the airborne pirate trio.

A moment before it could connect, Jinbe appeared in front of it, pushing left and off course. Nami could only assume that JInbe hugged the ball for a moment later, the bomb exploded, enveloping the huge fishman in a cloud of black smoke.

"Jinbe!" she shouted, Carrot and Chopper too stunned to say anything.

On the ground, neither did Luffy, only fixing Redcliff with a glare that made the rest of the marines tremble, them his arm flew out like a thunderbolt.

But at the last moment, Jolland grabbed his fellow captain from behind, and jumped, his zoan fruit sending him high in the air, straight for The trio.

He didn't miss, slamming into the three and knocking them out of the sky, making all five of them land with dull thuds on the ground, sending up small clouds of dust.

Meanwhile, Luffy was being swarmed by Marines, which wasn't much of a problem since he was sending them flying, in their droves, the problem was, with the destruction of the gate and the cannon and gunshot going off, all marines were currently swarming the Pirate captain.

Which left the Marine captains free to battle the other pirates.

Nami soon found that the lithe and maniacal Redcliff had regained his footing faster than herself, a few steps away Jolland was taking on Chopper and Carrot, not winning, but keeping them occupied.

Meanwhile Redcliff was advancing, his katana drawn.

Nami only had time to roll to the side at his first slash thundered into the sand where she had landed a mere moment ago.

Nami could only stumble backwards out of reach of further attacks. No time to think, to stand up, to wonder if Jinbe was okay, Nami was on a fundamental level aware that she was cornered. And it was only a matter of time.

Making a last dash to try and get up and away,

Nami lept,

And slammed into the ground, pinned down by a chain around her legs.

Looking at it, Nami could see it was connected to an anchor at one end, and Redcliffs' arm at the other.

"Wha…..?" she muttered

"Simple little pirate, My Devil fruit enables me to turn any part of my body into a ship component, like a chain, caannon….." he smiled, and a sadistic tone came to his voice "or a hull!"

Stomping down on Nami, Redcliff's foot turned into a small boat, pinning her down and restricting her movements further. Nami struggled, but couldn't get free, she could only watch in horror as the marine lifted his sword again.

"Justice be done" Redcliff said, as the Katana began to descend

Only to be stopped by another blade with a clash, that sent sparks flying into the marines' face, making him step back to avoid being blinded. As he did Nami felt the boat upon her move away and turn into a foot again, allowing her to see her saviour.

"It's against the swordsmens' code to attack a person like that…."

"ZORO!" Nami could only do so little to keep her tears of gratitude back. Zoro on his behalf didn't even bother to look at her, simply chopping at the chain around her legs, parting the links as if they were made of cheese before stepping over her, towards the marine.

Then a skeletal hand appeared to help Nami up, "Brook!"

"Yohohoho hello" the musician smiled at her, as much as his skull face would allow (fortunately he didn't ask to get to see her panties, this time).

Redcliff swore and charged again, his wild attacks incapable of evading Zoro's parrying strikes.

Nami didn't need to see that fight too know who'd win, besides she had more important things on her mind

"Jinbe-chan!" she hurried towards the fallen fishman, Brook hot on her heels.

The fishman was alive, shaken, bruised and a bit charred here and there, but alive.

He slowly got up (with some help from Nami) while Brook went to assist Chopper and Carrot.

Between the three of them, the Captain Jolland stood little chance, finally being knocked out by an attack from all three, pushing his rotund form back while slashing his chest a little, but not drawing blood (the slashes appeared to look remarkably much like one of Brooks concert posters). Finally, Carrots' Electro made his leg twitch and kick slightly, even after he had landed.

Looking at Luffy, Nami was happy to see that he was finished with the rank and file troops and was striding towards them.

Nami knew, from the sounds of clashing steel, that Zoro wasn't done with Redcliff yet, but looking at the pair, comparing their skills, the outcome was far too obvious.

Redcliffs' face was growing red, his breath coming out ragged, his arms were trembling and he was having trouble standing. Zoro looked like he'd had tougher fights against a summer breeze, scowling at the lack of stamina in his opponent. Finally, Redcliff gripped his blade with both hands and charged.

Zoro settled for Kicking him in the stomach and watch him double over.

The fight was over, they'd won. But compared to other fights they'd had over the years this didn't feel anywhere near as invigorating as their victory over…. _Baroque Works_ for example.

But at least they were free to leave now,

Although Zoro insisted, and was overruled, on getting some Sake in town.

Instead they choose to loot a little from the Marines, now rather empty, ships.

When they returned to the Sunny (after a cramped ride in the submersible) Nami was happy to see that the fire (which Sanji for some reason had started) had been extinguished and the kitchen was being repaired and would be good enough within a few days of diligent work.

So after having made sure Jinbe took it easy (and Chopper too), Nami sat down in the Library to talk things over with Robin, figuring out where to search for the Princesses next.

* * *

 **(On an unknown beach, late in the afternoon)**

Viola breathed a sigh of relief when she set foot on the dry beach sand.

Though the voyage on Shirahoshi's back hadn't been in any way unpleasant (physically at least) the constant fear of the huge scaredy-cat getting spooked and do something instinctive, like, diving beneath the surface for a long time, had nagged her horribly.

But finally, the group had found an island, not a big one admittedly, but large enough to have some vegetation on it, though not something she would have found edible. The thought of once again being denied food made her stomach grumble. Fortunately, none of the others seemed to have heard her, it wouldn't do for them all to be reminded of how much the needed food. It would be worst for Shirahoshi, as she did most of the work for the small group.

Thinking of food involuntarily made Viola think of Sanji.

She deeply hoped the idealistic pirate chef was okay. Not just him of course, his crewmates as well, but him especially. She found the pedestal that he had placed womenkind upon most beautiful and flattering, a bit undeserved since she knew women better than he ever could, but it was nice to be seen as a goddess simply for being.

Pushing her pink thoughst aside, Viola tried to be logical about their situation, plants meant that there was water, water to drink, so that the 6 women wouldn't die of thirst. Or perhaps only 5, Since Shirahoshi seemingly didn't need to drink, not being physically bothered by the salt water in the slightest.

But food was still a problem.

There was the opportunity of eating the Den Den Mushi, but they needed that for communicating with Elder Nyon. Last they'd spoken with the diminutive old woman, she'd told them some clairvoyant or something had predicted that they'd be captured by pirates and later see their fathers.

Very detailed and somewhat vague at the same time, it felt like the typical run-of-the-mill prediction to Viola. But Shirahoshi had seemed to believe every word. According to her, every prediction by this _Madame Shyarly_ was bound to come true at some point.

Not exactly the best of news for their small group.

She knew by experience that pirates was a diverse lot, there was good (Strawhats like Sanji-kun or Luffy-san) and there were bad (Doflamingo), but in the new world the Yonko ruled supreme. If they were found by a pirate crew it was more than likely to be one that was flying under an emperors' jolly roger.

Big Mom would try and marry them off to some of her vile sons.

Red Hair or Blackbeard was more likely to sell them back to their parents, submitting their kingdoms to poverty or simply claim them as territories (which would undoubtedly be far worse in the long run).

Kaido would just annihilate them. End of story. Viola had heard enough about that man when she was _together_ with Doflamingo.

The thought of that bastard made her cringe, hopefully no one would ever think that she'd been _together_ with that washedout tenryubito. The mere thought of Rebecca realising it or her own father, (not to mention the entire kingdom) was enough to make her hug herself to stop shivering.

Thinking back to Sanji, Viola reasoned she wouldn't have minded being discovered with him….

Especially not with his cooking skills and a full larder…

* * *

 **(Aboard the Sunny)**

Sanji sneezed and blushed deeply, his mind wandering through a cloud of pink hearts and women's' laughter.

In his absentmindedness, he dropped the plates, he'd been carrying and was barely brought back at the sound of them crashing into a million pieces in the kitchen floor.

Sanji's mind was elsewhere.

 _He could see a beach, filled with the missing princesses, Viola-chan, Shirahoshi-chan, Vivi-chan (and although he hadn't met her personally yet) Rebecca-chan and the two Kuja-chans. The sun setting in the distance, the crash of the waves against the tiny island they'd sought refuge upon barely registering in his mind._

 _They were cold and alone, and hungry, and he could cook for each and every one of them, making them soooo happy they'd kiss him as thanks!_

 _He could almost feel their lips on his already, their hands cradling his face, the sound of their sweet voices thanking him….. He could see Viola stretch her arm towards him, beckoning him closer with a hand and her chest, no doubt trying to still her violently beating heart._

 _Sanji reached out and started to walk towards the princess,_

And promptly stepped on a piece of broken plate, sending him head first into the burnt floor with a thump.

Fortunately, no one was around to ask what he was doing.

Getting up, he quickly dusted himself off and ran towards the Library. Bursting through the door he was met with (for him) the most magnificent sight, all female crewmembers sitting down around a table deep in discussion (at least Nami and Robin were, Carrot was busy gnawing on her namesake vegetable and going over the maps).

They all looked up as he came in, and it took him a moment to stop daydreaming again

"I know where the Princess-chans are!" he blurted out

Nami only looked at him with scepticism, it was all she looked at him with these days to be honest, (but he couldn't realise that)

"How could you possibly know that?" she said, her tone having a knifelike edge to it, earning her a look from Robin

"Some of the most beautiful women in the world, how could any man not know where they are?" he responded joyfully, his smile going from ear to ear, then he started blurting out about the vision he'd had, leaving out no detail.

In the end, Nami looked at him with a flabbergasted expression on her face, not certain what to say about his "vision", not even sure if it should be classified as a sort of chivalry- or perversion-radar.

Carrot looked at Sanji as if he'd just grown a dual and much more appealing, head, muttering to herself "The seas are truly a wonderland".

Robin hadn't changed her expression much, her brow had furrowed a little, instead looking down on one of the maps on the table.

"There is actually an island that fits your description Sanji, right here" looking where she was pointing, Sanji could see a small dot on the map, a place that barely had a name, but it fit the shape of the island he'd described to a t.

"But that Island's already been searched by the Marines" Nami interjected "two days ago in fact"

"That doesn't mean that they wouldn't be there now" Robin reasoned "Remember Shirahoshi is a mermaid, and big enough to carry all of them across the sea without problem"

Leaning back in her chair, Nami thought for a moment, before she sighed "It's not like we got better leads at the moment…"

Sanji was elevated, not only had he got the chance to be helpful for the crew, he also got to see all the princesses in his head and then Robin-chan, Carrot-chaan and Nami-scwann in real life, though when he complemented Nami on her new clothes she'd told him to cook and leave her to making a course for the island.

The last she said as he was exiting the door was: "With any luck we'll get there within two days"

Two days and Sanji would be in heaven!

* * *

 **(in the evening aboard the _Vigilant Vanquisher_ )**

Redcliff swore, his stomach still hurt from when the pirate had kicked him, the pirates had gotten away, they'd had to repay the town for the damages to the inn and the gate and somehow also been talked into paying for the clothes the pirates had stolen (that little girl had somehow known exactly how to haggle with both captains, it was embarrassing). To top it all off, the pirates had looted, not the town, but Redcliffs own ship, leaving behind a mess in his personal study, most of the food gone and another giant carving of "Soul King Brooks greatest hits" along the side of the hull (including all the lyrics?).

The ignominy of the situation was so bad he'd been forced to ask if he could sail with Jolland to hunt down the Strawhats.

They couldn't have gotten far, they only had a sloop, and that certainly wasn't as good as a marine ship, in Redcliffs' mind, a marine dinghy could out sail a pirate ship of any size and build (it just needed a giant manning the oars).

Picking up the den den mushi, Redcliff prepared to make his dayli report to the nearest Marine base.

"Hello, this is Captain Redcliff, captain of the _Vigilant Vanquisher_ , myself and captain jolland, captain of the _Magnificent Manatee_ , encountered members of the Strawhat Pirate crew today, including their captain, Monkey D. Luffy, and the former Shichibukai JInbe, _Knight of the Sea_ , I'm calling to inform main base that we're in pursuit and…."

"Cease pursuit and go to the nearest Marine base, captain" ht evoice was clear and remarkably feminine, but with a tone that bespoke of authority, something which Redcliff usually would've found charming, if he hadn't been in pursuit.

"But we can catch them! If we wait any longer than we have they'll slip through our fingers like they did in Dressrosa!"

"This is a direct order captain, the order is to captain Jolland as well, be sure to inform him" the voice paused before speaking again, the faint sound of paper sliding indicating the speaker was going through some sort of list

"But why?" Redcliff whined, practically shaking the den den mushi as he spoke

"Everyone in these waters turn up on Runny Rum at some point in the New World, especially when they're this close, and it's even more true with pirates, I know the report is out that several of Whitebeard's old subordinates have docked here recently and it has only increased, scarcely hours ago Captain Blondie was spotted on a bar and Whitey Bay was seen lounging on the beach this very afternoon, she is still somewhere on the main island"

"I-I understand, we'll be there within a few days, we'll have to get all the materiel over on Jollands's ship first, but…"

"Why is that?" after Redcliff had explained what had happened to his beautiful ship, the voice grew harsh "that is complete and utterly irrelevant, get here now, vandalized ship or not, that is an order, captain!"

Redcliff's face grew red and pale as the words sank in, of all the indignities he'd had to swallow that day, it was the hair that nearly broke the camels back.

"And from whom is this order given" he said through clenched teeth, his eyes nearly bulging out of his head from the rage building up inside of him.

"This is the leader of the marine base C-0" the answer came flatly back, as as the words floated through the air in his study, Redcliff's face turned white as a sheet.

"U-unerstood…." He stammered, his anger completely forgotten as he did an unnecessary salute, knowking his tricorne of his sweaty forehead "We'll be there in two days Vice Admiral Gion, Ma'am"

"Good too hear, Look forward to seeing you both" the admiral trailed off before speaking again, the words appearing too much like an after thought "Both of you can Join Commodore Durkey of the Morals committee, he should be sailing by your current position in a few hours if the wind is with him"

As the den den mushi went "click" Redcliff's shoulders fell "I really hate that guy…." He grumbled as he told Jolland of the change of plans (Jolland wasn't entirely displeased about it though)

* * *

 **(In _Mariejois)_**

Elder Nyon, once great empress Gloriosa of Amazon Lily, was puzzled.

The fact that the princesses and Rindo and Marguerite hadn't been found yet was not a surprise.

The strange part was that prophecy, or omen, or whatever. It could be a hoax, Gloriosa had used the same sort of trick once or twice to try and get empress Boa Hancock to do something that approached her royal duties.

But the reports from the Fishman King bespoke of this fortune tellers' potent abilities. It should make her happy to know that the princesses would get saved, eventually, but there was something about it that didn't seem quite right.

Then she realized it, the Kuja were part of the prophecy too, but she had little recollection of whom Rindo and Marguerite's fathers might be, though their births had been a bit special for the Kuja tribe.

Then it hit her, slapping her head, she cursed herself for a foolish old woman, Marguerite and Rindo shared a father! But she couldn't remember what he was called…..

"Are you well Nyon-san?" the question brought her back to the present, looking around her as she remembered that she was having tea with Thalassa Lucas again, and that King Dalton of Sakura Kingdom, both more than a little interested to know what was going on with the missing Princesses and the searching royalty.

"Oh yes, I just recalled something from long ago, none of your concern I assure you Lucas-dono"

"hmm, I hope you don't mind that I remind you that I am a king, not an ambassador" the elderly Lucas said in a calm, polite tone.

"Oh not at all" Nyon replied, understanding fully what had peeved the king "I'd like to inform you, that I used to be the Empress of Amazon Lily and the Kuja tribe, so _-san_ is a bit incorrect" her tone was playful, her eyes were not. Lucas quickly dropped the subject and apologized

"I used to be a captain of the guard, it was sometimes hard to get the snow out of our cloaks on windy days" Dalton said out of the blue, making both Nyon and Lucas look at him with puzzled expressions. Finally Nyon decided to break the awkward silence:

" do you have more Choco tea- _nyon_?"

* * *

 **(On a small island)**

The women had huddled up together for warmth.

The night was cool and there was a little chill in the wind. Vivi felt that they'd starve soon if they didn't find something better to munch on the raw kelp. Although food in the sea was abundant, more than half of it was poisonous and they had no means of cooking the poison out of it either.

Water was another problem, they could only stomach to drink so much salt water before their bodies became affected, but they had to drink or die of thirst.

Hopefully tomorrow would bring something better…

* * *

Chapter 3, sorry it took so long to update, I've been a bit busy lately, but the next week or so should bring abundant time to write on this story

After writing this chapter I can safely say one thing, writing action scenes are time consuming!

so some of the later chapter will be a tough thing to get through.

Next chapter wont be nearly as long, that I'm certain of, over 10.000 words and aproximately 22 pages in word, _wow_

hopefully youøve liked what I've made so far,

and as always:

RnR if you'd be so kind


	4. Chapter 4: A ship!

**A ship!**

Chapter 4

* * *

 **(On an unknown island)**

It was early morning, the sun had yet to rise, but there were faint rays of sunshine peaking in the horizon, the light clashing with that of the moon, creating a mixture of pale blue moonlight retreating from the warm orange-red shine of the lazily approaching sun. it had its very own sense of beauty, like a war of light or rather, Vivi thought, it was a joust.

Knights in different colours riding tilt after tilt in never ending waves, the blue giving way to the orange, until night would fall again, and the night with its moonlight destriers would takeback what they'd lost the previous morn.

But there was something in the water, that didn't seem to belong, a dark shape, the form being too static to be some sea monster…

"Hey guys, I think I can see a ship!" Vivi said, her words rousing the other marooned women from their sleep, albeit slowly, it had been a long cold night, and constant shifting to find a slightly warmer spot in their "pile" had woken them all up at least once during the night. Therefore, all were still a bit drowsy, but not completely unalert.

"I think you're right Vivi-san, it's definitely a ship, but I can't make out any details" Viola said, any notion of sleepyness evaporated byt eh sight of the ship.

"More importantly, what do we do?" Rindo yawned and stretched, a barely audible crack escaping from her back as she did so"If they're hostile, it's not certain that we can take them….." she let the point hang in the air letting it sink in the other ladies' minds.

"You're right, but what alternative do we have? It might be days before we see another ship" Viola said, voice still sleepy.

"Or it could be in ten minutes after we leave this island, nothing is certain on the seas….." Vivi said, her voice barely hiding her memories of travelling the grand line with the Strawhats or with Mr. nine, back when she was still working for Baroque Works, under that monster….

"…..and sometimes, you just have to dive down into it, monsters or not"

* * *

 **(Somewhere else on the seas, aboard an odd makeshift ship)**

He slammed his fist into the railing, giving a small but vital vent for his frustrations, there were only so much punishment a sandbag could take before it became completely broken, and he'd gone through one already on this little hunting trip.

Finding that damn mermaid was proving difficult, he'd already seen more pirate crews in these waters than he had fingers on both hands. He'd so far only had to beat up 3 rival hunters and get them to reconsider going after his quarry, but it was beginning to get on his nerves.

Sure, the treasures (and the food) they looted helped on the mood (and the victories), but what he really needed was fighters. And if he could get the mermaid, he was sure, that her father would grant him the pick of all the strongest men in his army, or in his dungeons. Honestly it didn't matter who they were, as long as they could fight. Adding fishman karate, fishman Jujutsu or merman combat to his crew would make it all the stronger, so that when he met his comrades again, he'd be able to hold his head far higher than before. Taking their handouts had been a bit of a blow to his ego, and the crews pride as a whole. If they didn't make their mark, they'd never hear the end of it.

They needed this!

He would not fail in getting that mermaid, and if she was with the other princesses…. then he could make a nice buck on saving their hides as well, not to mention, show the other captains and representatives how it was done.

He could feel it in his fingerbones, a faint tingling ha had before any of his victories, they were close… They'd find her today!

* * *

 **(Another place in the New World)**

Vivi shivered. The night had been cold enough but on open and windy water early in the morning, the cold cut like a blade, all the way to the bone.

The group had decided only a few would venture to the ship and figure out if the crew was hostile, whole the other would remain at a safe distance.

Including Shirahoshi was a given, despite her great size, she was the best (indeed only) option for easy transport across the waves.

Vivi herself for obvious reasons, being a strong proponent for them to investigate the ship in the first place, not to mention getting her mind off things and volunteering (she didn't mention that she actually had genuine experience with infiltration (of organizations)). Though she didn't want to leave the rest of the girls behind on the island.

The third and last member of their little party was, surprisingly, Rindo. She claimed to be the most experienced fighter of the group, a fact which Marguerite backed up, referring to the dark haired Kuja as her senpai. Though it appeared to Vivi, that both Viola and Rebecca might have reservations about that statement, neither had said anything.

And so, the six women split in two groups of three, one bound for the ship, and one remaining on the little island beach.

Riding on Shirahoshi's back as the mermaid swam towards the large ship, none of the three made a sound, though Vivi smiled in the darkness of the dying night. The sun was slow to rise and there were deep shadows everywhere on the huge ship.

Perfect for sneaking around and hide within.

But as the trio made their way to the hull, Vivi could see two other dark silhouettes on the water behind the ship.

She turned to Rindo and whispered

"I think there's two more ships behind this one, it doesn't look like they're escorting it…."

"So they might be pursuing it instead, if they're enemies then we have better chance at not aligning with this one" Rindo responded, her face barely visible in the shadow of the ship. Vivi couldn't argue with the logic, but still argued that they should scout out this ship first.

Afterall it might hold some supplies for them.

If they could get away….

Climbing up the hull on a number of wooden steps, Vivi and Rindo left a dread shivering Shirahoshi down in the water on the side. Rindo had made certain, that Shirahoshi understood she shouldn't wait in a fixed position but circle the ship and just wait for a splash, just in case they needed to get off in a hurry. If they could make a silent escape, the mermaid would find them as she circled the ship.

"That's a pretty good idea Rindo-san" Vivi whispered down to the Kuja, her respect for the Kuja pirates growing

"There's another reason, repetition tends to calm the nerves, and…. _savage races_ tend to act like animals more than regular humans at times, so they pace a lot anyway…."

Vivi blinked in the darkness, a bit unease creeping in at the thought this woman ahead of her might be a secret racist.

"Savage races?" she slowly said

"Isn't that what the world calls them, read it once back home….."

"oh….." Vivi breathed a sigh of relief, if they had been forced to stay together for too long any racism, or specism, would prove disastrous for any budding sense of team spirit.

"Where'd you read it" Vivi asked quietly as she pulled herself up one more step on the ladder.

For a moment there was silence, if it wasn't for the fact that Rindo had stopped climbing, Vivi would've thought she hadn't heard her question. Looking down, Vivi could barely see the kuja, still as a statue, seemingly lost in thought

"….My mother's diary….." the response came slowly "….Why'd you stop? keep climbing!" the question came out harsh, despite coming low through clenched teeth, and Vivi, despite numerous years as a princess with a horde of waiters and staff, didn't hesitate to obey.

"Where…." Vivi began, more than a little curious about the Kuja now, and apparently having her in a vulnerable spot.

"-did she learn it?" Rindo finished Vivi's sentence "I can tell you that when we've sure about this situation, how's that?"

Vivi didn't like the edge to Rindo's voice, it didn't feel right. Like there was pain to it somehow. But the pirates' words rang true and she steeled herself for the rest of the climb.

The she heard a sound from the ship, some strange sort of mixture between a laughing clown and a howling wolf, filled with pain, but not physical, a pain deep in the soul…. Of being denied something….

And somehow, she felt that what the thing was being denied….

Was bloodshed.

* * *

 **(Within the ship)**

He moved fast through the ships bowels. His new home.

The sound of the most famous person on the ship demanded his attention.

His feet hit the wood with a methodic "clip", each step, while silent, belied a lifetime of discipline that would've made an entire elite regiment jealous. Not that the medals on his chest wouldn't have done that.

He wasn't like to get any more though, his past denied him that luxury. But his present and future offered so much more. Even if it meant dealing with the sound that was coming from the large cabin beneath the helm.

The sound of rattling chains and of screeching metal only got louder as he got closer to the cabin. The sounds were something he'd gotten used to years ago, hauling prisoners around wasn't something new to him. But this type of prisoner was something else.

And soon…. The bound man would be free again, and the hunting would continue.

Seeing the door to the cabin still closed didn't make him pause, the smaller figure in front of it did however.

Momentarily

"I've got urgent business with…." He began, knowing all too well it was in vain

"No" the feminine response came like a thunderbolt, if he was a prime example of a soldier, then the First Mate was by far the prime example of the drill sergeant that had trained him, times 2.

Instead he had to stand and be subjected to the usual, dreadful, horrifying, hellish situation….

Behind the door the howls of rage continued...

* * *

 **(On the outside of the ship)**

After hearing the scream/howl the first time, the two women had steeled their nerves and kept climbing upwards.

Or rather, it had been Vivi being pushed upwards by Rindo.

As they got over the railing, Vivi got a better view of the ship.

The vessel almost glowed. The deck was glowing with some inner energy, a combination of cream and gold that was even visible in the intermingling rays of sun and moon, not to mention the shadows cast by the three high masts. Vivi couldn't see the figurehead, only the back of it, but she assumed it was some sort of woman with long flowing hair. For some reason it was holding a flag, but she couldn't make out the symbol, only the colours of black and white, never a good sign. It was most certainly a jolly roger. But which one?

Before she could get a better look, Rindo tugged at her shoulder and dragged her to the railing, barely avoiding the light cone of a lantern. A moment later a sentry walked by, a large man with a rapier in his belt. It was strange that he appeared to have a gargantuan head. To Vivi it appeared to reach the sky, and it was way too flowy to be a helm. It occurred to Vivi that it might be his hair, before Rindo dragged her towards one of the masts shadow, and away from the sentry's route.

From there, it was on to the inside of the ship.

As soon as they'd snuck in through the door, Vivi saw something strange. The hall way was dimly lit by an ornate lamb, which gave just enough light to illuminate the door and a meter or two into the ship. But that wasn't the odd bit, nor were the barrel with dirty clothes and rags. The truly weird part of the hallway was, that neatly hanging on the wall opposite the lamb, were several tall, curly, white wigs!

Given the sheer number Vivi could only conclude that they must be worn by the entire crew, which just seemed overtly pompous to her. As if they were trying to bring a court onto the waves for some reason.

Shrugging and shaking her head at the… uniform, Vivi began to make her way into the darkness and the bowels of the ship.

Vivi only stopped once she realised that her companion wasn't with her. Turning back towards the door, Vivi saw Rindo come towards her, her arms full of wigs and coats. Giving her partner a puzzled look, the Kuja was quick to explain:

"Disguises, we'll need them if we run into any guards"

Although Vivi couldn't argue with the logic, Rindo's manner of forcibly showing Vivi's head into the wig and drape a white coat and cloak over her shoulders left a lot to be desired. Fortunately, the princess was left to her own devices as Rindo had put on her own disguise. Tugging her blue ponytail into the wig, Vivi almost wished she had a mirror to see how ridiculous she looked. If she resembled her partner, it would've been hilarious!

Gone were the skimpy beach outfit and instead the Kuja stood in a far too large coat, pants and a wig that looked like someone had bedecked her head with whipped cream. Vivi stifled a laugh.

"Are you done?" was all Rindo said in response. Nodding her affirmation the two infiltrators began to walk further into the darkness.

Descending a staircase Vivi began to hear the sounds of the ship, the very voice of a voyage.

There were surprisingly few.

When she had sailed with the strawhats on the Going Merry, there had been creaks and waves constantly crashing into the hull, the wind pulling at the sail, and of course the crew, which was usually Usopp trying not to panic.

There were faint snoring from some of the rooms, but otherwise nothing.

Either the ship was better built that the Going Merry, or it was because it was so much larger.

The smells of the ship had been so familiar to her however, that Vivi felt a tang of longing. The smell of ropes in the sea breeze, tar, wet wood, spray from the waves….. and food!

It smelled delicious!

Not as good as Sanji-san's cooking but after a few days on the sea with nary a bite of bread, Vivi wasn't one to be picky. It smelled surprisingly like a royal banquet back in Alabasta.

Turning to her companion, Vivi could see she had noticed it as well. Rindo on the other hand, didn't need to turn, because Vivi's growling stomach spoke better than any facial expression ever could.

Walking down yet another set of stairs, the duo found themselves at a door that was barely open, behind it they could hear faint voices and clatter of pots and pans.

Both smiled.

They'd found the kitchen!

Snekaing towards the wooden door, both women peeked inside (fortunately not needing to take turns to do so, the door being tall enough that they didn't have to remove the wigs).

The kitchen was large, filled with a handful chefs and kitchen boys, all of them scurrying around to make whatever breakfast was. And all in the other end of the Kitchen too.

To top off their luck, the kitchen workers were called out in the other end of the room.

Both women quickly snuck inside.

Ignoring all the delectably fragrant and warm food, both quickly grabbed as much canned food as they could. It all had to survive the voyage after all, not to mention, they didn't know how long it would be before they'd get this sort of chance again.

Putting it all in two crates for easy transport, they made their escape before the staff returned.

But as soon as they left the kitchen the trouble began.

The first was that they could hear the creaks of the stair much more accurately than before, a small vibration in the wood and the telltale sign of rhythmic bumps and the clatter of metal against wood, spoke all too clearly of what was going on.

Some of the crew were on their way down!

Both women quickly tried to hide, hoping to wait until the crew had passed them.

But there were no things to hide behind!

The only choice they had was to walk further into the heart of the ship.

Trying to do so swiftly proved a greater challenge than getting into the ship itself.

Whichever way they went, it sounded like they would run into crewmembers that were waking up and resuming their morning routine. It left them with the unwanted solution of taking a new route several times, at one point walking into what could best be described as a bathing house (it looked so much like the one in Alabasta Vivi was almost envious). At another, they evaded notice by hiding behind the crates, they'd taken and waited for the half naked (a towel around the waist and the uniform wig) man to pass them.

He did so slowly, his eyes still filled with sleep, but his hands were either busy straightening his black moustache or holding his towel in place.

When he'd finally made him way to what Vivi assumed was the bathroom the infiltrators skulked away as quickly as they could.

At last they found a stair that led upwards and no sounds around them. It led up two floors and Vivi assumed that they were now almost directly below the main deck.

But they weren't out of the fire yet.

There were voices, and they seemed to get louder by the second.

"….now go get it, Cabinboy" a feminine voice flowed through the air. To Vivi it sounded like a harp, that was being used to hammer in a nail.

"CABINBOY! I was in the army, I've killed more people, than there's ever been on this ship!" an angry voice called out, the tone of the man setting Vivi's teeth on edge.

"That's what war criminals do, isn't it?" the voice responded back, loud but not angry, atleast not as explosively as the other one. But it definitely had a steel edge to it that made Vivi fear the owner more than the "war criminal".

Vivi almost yelped as she felt a hand on her shoulder. Turning her head round she discovered that Rindo was bobbing her head back where they'd come from.

And then Vivi saw it too, someone was coming up the stair with a lantern.

Luckily the person was slow, which gave the two just enough time to nod at each other and walk towards the arguing voices. Rounding a corner, Vivi could see another light in the distance with two people beneath it. Behind them was a door. There also was another one not far away from the corner. The two didn't seem to have noticed the infiltrators yet and were still arguing about something.

"I TOLD you, I've got urgent business with the…." the man said, looking down on a bespectacled woman dressed in a shirt, a miniskirt and the crew wig. In her arms she was holding a pen and a little notebook. The pen was pointing at the larger man, dressed all on black and surprisingly not wearing the wig. It seemed to Vivi that the item was something of a mark of authority amongst the crew.

"And I Told you Beheader" the woman interrupted him her pen poking the larger man in the chest repeatedly "….go get the morning tea, before that!"

"Bu…" the man began, his voice reaching breaking point, making it appear more ,like a squeak than the previous roar.

"No buts, and try to keep your voice down, the captain is still sleeping!" then a long howl of rage and greed filled out silencing, but strangely not scarring, her, the woman only taking her time to let it die out before she continued "This ship has rules you know, and one of them is that we follow a very strict morning ritual… another is that we wear the required wig!"

At this the man straightened up and looked like he was shaking for a moment.

"….. I'll go get the tea now" he quickly said before rushing down the dark hall, straight in the two infiltrators direction. Vivi and Rindo moved quickly and pushed through the nearby door, crates and all before closing it without a sound.

Neither made a sound as they leaned against the wooden door, hoping that the man, _the beheader_ , would pass them by and go directly to the kitchen. On the other side of the door they could barely hear, his steps reced in the darkness, followed by some chatter. Assumingly the man had encountered the one with the lamb.

For the moment the two women felt safe.

Vivi silently thanked whatever gods for the hinges being so well oiled. Releasing a breath she had barely noticed she had been holding in, Vivi turned and looked at the room they'd hidden in.

I was bit of a surprise. A well carved wooden staircase lead down about a metre and the floor was strewn with fresh hay. In the opposite end of the large room were an ostentatious window which allowed a bit of the dawn entrance, giving just enough light to look at the interior.

The walls had a number of shelves on them, some large closets, and for some reason several saddles.

On the right side of the room, there was another staircase, which led to a tall double sided door.

The middle of the large room was dominated by a large, four post bed with the yellow drapes halfway pulled down, only allowing a glimpse at the occupant.

With something BIG in it.

Neither woman being able to control their curiosity, they descended the stairs, making sure not to make a sound as they slowly walked towards the bed.

The closer they got the more Vivi could take in of the rooms occupant.

The body of the, she assumed, captain was huge, far larger than herself. But it was the effects of the sleeping form that enticed her even more.

On a small nightstand next to the bed, Vivi could see large books, dark candles which even unlit gave of a wonderful flowery fragrance and a teacup that had been drained long ago. Same went for another, different cup next to it, only a bit of some cubed sugar gave off its previous content.

Looking at Rindo, Vivi nodded.

Putting down her crate, Vivi grasped the drapes immediately feeling the quality of the craftsmanship, it felt like a combination of silk and snakeskin. Waiting for Rindo to put her own crate aside, Vivi pulled, and revealed the sleeping form.

Midlength greyish hair ran down a long neck, the rest of the body hidden beneath a silken blanket.

A steady rise and fall of the form, showed that _the captain_ was still fast asleep.

Then the body stirred.

Vivi froze at the movement, if they were caught it'd a hell of a problem for them.

The body turned, the massive long head looking straight up into the ceiling, along with four legs.

Vivi was surprised to see that the one sleeping in the bed, was a huge horse.

Looking at Rindo, Vivi couldn't help but smile and chuckle a little, before she turned her gaze back on the magnificent animal before her.

Then the horse opened its mouth and it's tongue lopped out.

The sound that erupted from the horses' mouth wasn't entirely unlike anything Vivi'd ever heard before. She'd been with the entire Strawhat crew at a banquet, and the memory of Luffy devouring an entire weeks' worth of food without using cutlery, or any other manners for that sake, was the closest she'd ever get to the sound of a horses' snoring. The whole sight was punctuated by the bubble of snot the had suddenly grown from the horses' muzzle.

All either woman could do was to straighten up and look at the beast in surprise. Pulling back the drape, Vivi mouthed a silent "wow!" to Rindo, who slowly nodded her agreement at the sight.

Then the door they'd come through began to open and the voices spill into the room

"….don't want to wear that stupid wig!" it was the man from before, sounding more like he was complaining than angry now, there was a slight pleading tone to his voice.

"It's the rules beheader, they have to be followed else there's no dicipline" the female voice chirped in, taking a less battering tone than before, sounding more condescending and snide than before.

Then a third voice came into play, sounding like a too tightly strung violin

"If you please excuse me, but Farul-sama must have his morning tea, else he gets cranky…"

A short silence followed, before the _beheader_ broke it "Why do you call it -sama? It's a horse! Not a lord or an officer"

"Farul outranks you on this ship, cabinboy!" the feminine voice shot back, making it sound like an inron chain was being tightened around him.

The conversation on the other side of the door effectively stopped the three people the room. It did however make the horse stir and roll around uneasily. Vivi and Rindo grabbed their crates and, not willing to crash through the window, rushed for the double doors.

They'd only just managed to open them when the horse began to thrash around in the bed, seemingly awoken by the conversation outside the other door.

When the crew members came into the room, babbling soothing words, the two infiltrators were quietly, but swiftly closing the double doors behind them.

What awaited them in the new room was a room nearly as opulent as the glorified staple they'd just left.

A large bed dominated one side of it, huge windows on either side allowing the creeping dawn to enter the room, giving it a light scarlet shine the bounced of the empty bed.

In front of the bed however, was a large Iron maiden, the sight of it, bathed part in the lingering shadows of the night and part in red dawn, made it appear covered in blood. The sight made her shiver.

But not nearly as much as when the whole coffin shaped box trembled with a vigour that should be impossible for a mere torture device.

Then a screech came from within,

A drawn out howl, part bloodlust and laughter combined the sound made it appear as if every shadow was suddenly filled with assassins and monstrous seakings, it's echo could have made an army tremble in their booths and pray to long forgotten gods. It had that effect on Vivi, and the princess of Alabasta, who'd travelled with the Strawhat crew, faced the full might of Baroque works and the wrath of the Shichibukai Crocodile, felt all her courage melt away like snow in a furnace.

Vivi's arms vent limp, dropping the crate she'd been holding

and she involuntarily opened her mouth to scream…..

* * *

 **(On the beach)**

The sound of the scream could be heard at a great distance away, but on the beach they barely realised that it had been there until it was over.

Neither Viola or Rebecca or their guardswoman Marguerite had the faintest clue of what was going on within the ship, but for some reason, they all three shivered as a cold feeling travelled up their spines…..

* * *

 **(On the Sunny)**

"I'm certain they're in that direction!" Sanji half yelled as he pointed starboard, his face shining with a combination of lust and rage (lust for Women, and anger at the new helmsman)

"I'm sorry Sanji-san, but We can't be certain to follow your instincts until we've verified if they were where you said yesterday" Jinbe's voice had been even, but it was beginning to get an edge to it, one brought on by listening to the chef for more than 2 hours (always the same, princess-name-chan this kuja-name-chan that) it really wore on the former shichibukais' nerves at this point.

The only plus with having the perverted chef on the bridge was that he brought food with him.

 _Delicious, nourishing, fresh sushi and clam chowder with a sprinkling of baked kelp…._

"But I can feel them!" Sanji shivered as he held onto Jinbe's arm ( _or rather want to feel them.._ Jinbe thought, but kept his mouth shut) "They're in danger! Shirahoshi-chan is screaming!"

"Princess Shirahoshi would scream if she saw a seamouse!" Jinbe tried to argue, but the chef didn't seem to notice

"Vivi-chan is gasping! I can practically see Viola-chan shiver in the wind!"

"Hold on to that thought, Sanji-san, we'll check up on it as soon as we've verified your….. _idea_ " JInbe couldn't bring himself to say _delusion,_ even if he thought it was true.

"It's not an idea it's the feeling of a man who knows when women are in danger! Give me the wheel!" Sanji near screamed as he tried to pry the wheel out of Jinbes' hands. Something that Jinbe wasn't all too pleased with, not letting go. Eventually their struggle began to make creak. Still neither men refused to give any ground.

"Sanji-san, please, Franky-san is still trying to repair the kitchen! Do you want to give him more work?"

"Why don't you let go then!"

Again the pair struggled, trying to twist the wheel out of the others' arms, turning it, and thus the Sunny, off course, before a violent yank, that made the wheel and the mechanisms in the ship creak and groan at the powers that turned it, turned it back on course with a snap.

The pattern continued for a while, both pirates refusing to give up, either unwilling to slack on their duty, whether it be to the crews' set course, or to the ideal of beautiful women.

Eventually, the rest of the crew decided to make the ship stop moving like a toy in the hands of a pair of five-year-old boys.

"WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?" the shout was angry, powerful and clear, like if a thunderbolt sounded like a flute. Naturally, Nami was the source, her arms full of maps, all of which were dripping with ink and spilled orange juice, making little puddles of orange and black on the deck.

Nami's face looked like a thundercloud hugging a volcano. Naturally, Sanji still looked at her, as if she was the most beautiful thing in the world. With the slowly rising sun off to the side, she might even appear to outshine it to him. The sight of a bewildered Franky and Brook (both with a variety of cutlery in their afros) coming up on the bridge behind her somewhat disturbed that vision however.

A good thing since it made him aware that Nami was furious. He barely managed to cringe at the navigators' face and shrink back as she began to open her mouth to yell at him(again).

Fortunately for him, an arm suddenly sprouted on Nami's shoulder with the hand quickly clapped her mouth shut. Somehow Nami's muffled protests still sounded like music to the chef.

The sound of Robin walking up the stairs to the bridge and open her mouth mitigated it quite a lot "Sanji-san, the kitchen is a mess…."

Despite her deadpan voice (and their two afro headed comrades being in the way) Sanji almost floated over the deck in her direction arms waving slowly in the air.

"And you want me to clean it, Robin-scwann?" he swooned as he said it and even more when Franky and Brook stepped to the side, allowing Robins' visage to appear.

"No, I think it's more important to close the door to the storage room"

"huh" Sanji looked at her with a confused look on his face, not quite seeing her point

"Luffy was in the kitchen too…. And Carrot…"

Robin let the statement hang in the air, seeing Sanji's face as it dawned on him what was going on in his domain.

It was one of the rare cases where Sanji would leave the female members of the crew behind for Luffy.

Jumping down to the main deck, the chef sped off like a bullet towards the kitchen, his face a mask of panic

"Luffyyy, STOP! PLEASE! I need to feed the princess-chans and the Kuja-chans when we saaaaave theeeeem!" he howled as he disappeared into the ship.

Back on the bridge, Nami was still struggling with the hand over her mouth. Robin simply looked at her.

"Franky, Brook, would you two please go check if there's any damage to the ship?"

"When we're done, would you allow me to look at your pa…." Brook started before a more situation conscious Franky dragged him off, leaving the two women and the former shichibukai on the bridge

Jinbe cleared his throat as he turned the wheel and got the ship back on course

"My apologies…." he began, only to be silenced by Nami whom snapped up a trembling finger, dropping most of her maps in the process.

Robin didn't allow them to reach the deck however, snatching each of the maps up before they landed.

Satisfied at the small victory, Robin also released the hand from Nami's mouth, allowing her to speak again.

Luckily the navigator's mood had improved remarkably, at least enough not to storm back after Sanji with a blunt instrument (or Zoro's swords). But she was still fuming.

Handing her the maps, Robin looked at her friend, a bit of worry sneaking in on her normally calm expression.

"I know it's hard Nami, but you've got to be civil around him on the ship…" Her soothing words would have calmed a rabid werewolf, but they didn't have much effect on Nami, an entirely different kind of creature, a very angry and determined woman.

"I'm not letting Sanji get off the hook that easily Robin… not by a longshot! If you'd seen what he did, what he said!" the last part had been half sneered and half spat through clenched teeth, it was the only thing that could stop her from yelling at the chef.

Robin exchanged a quick look with Jinbe, whose only response was to close his eyes, nod a little and purse his lips.

"Nami-san would you be so kind to help me, I'm not sure we're on the right cours?" the large fishman said

"….A few degrees more northwest Jinbe-chan" Nami responded, her mood slightly improved "you know it's going to take a bit more for me to forget about what just happened right?"

Again the fishman nodded "Figures, ,no one can easily forget when someone faults or fails them, especially not in the New World…" he let the words drift in the air and for a while the seabreeze were the only sound that were on the bridge.

Finally Nami turned to Robin "You spoke like it was from experience, where from?"

Sighing, the archaeologist shruggered "A lot of things happened in Baroque works, when I left it wasn't on the best of terms…"

"Crocodile" Jinbe stated, his features getting very serious

Robin's response was a simple affirmative nod

"there's something about him that's been bothering me since Marineford…." He paused, unsure of how to proceed.

"About what Jinbe-san?"

"hmmmm, something that might come in handy if we meet him in the New World…" Jinbe said, pondering his next words, " I guess it can wait until later" he shrugered

"Let's hope we don't meet him ever again" Nami chirped in, her disdain visible "You should've seen what he nearly did to Alabasta"

"I've heard about what he planned to do…. but in the New World, any old enemy could turn into an ally, with the right incentitive…" Jinbe said, a small smirk forming on his fanged mouth.

"Off Course Jinbe-san, any time" Robin said, her face giving the new crew member a puzzled look before shrugging, content with waiting until later with any questions relating to her prior lifestyle, and the people she'd once associated with.

Nami merely looked straight ahead at the fast approaching horizon, painted as red as blood by the slowly approaching dawn.

Soon they'd see if the chef's _perv-voyancy_ was correct.

* * *

 **(On the ship)**

Vivi felt a hand clasp firmly across her mouth, silencing the scream of terror that had been brewing within her chest.

The only sound the hand allowed to escape was a grunt at the sudden pain of having her dropped crate pressed against her abdomen, the container held in place between them by Rindo's own lithe form.

Even in the faint darkness, Vivi could see the Kuja give her an angry glare, outraged at nearly being caught.

Vivi gathered her wits about her and swallowed the discomfort as best she could.

Eventually the kuja removed her hand and "gently" tried to ease the pressure she'd put on Vivi, as her previous actions had pinned the other woman firmly to the wall.

Seeing herself successful the kuja breathed a sigh of relief, allowing Vivi to try and balance the crate for a better grip.

She barely hung onto the container, having to put it, as quietly a she could, down on a nearby desk, right on top of a myriad of papers.

Again the Ironmaiden shuddered, whomever was inside letting out a small wail. But this time, Vivi was a bit more prepared for the sound, keeping her lips tied firmly together. It helped that it wasn't as greedy this time around.

But it still had a hunger to it, that the Alabastan princess didn't find comfortable at all.

While Rindo went towards the other door, away from the one that they'd entered from, trying to listen of there were anyone outside, which hopefully would allow the women a quick getaway.

She looked back at Vivi and shook her head, holding a finger in front of her lips.

Vivi could only grimace at the gesture, it meant they had to remain near the ironmaiden, and its occupant.

Trying to focus on something else than the boxed in horror, Vivi looked at the table next to her.

A lot of wanted posters was lying around, most of them in tatters. Like if a knife had been stabbed into the faces of the pirates.

Vivi could recognize some names:

" _Gang_ " Bege 300 million Beli _one of the worst generation like Luffy… and Zoro_

" _Lion Tamer_ " Blondie: 380 million Beli

" _The Killer_ " Daz Bones: 350 million Beli _one of my old colleagues_ Vivi thought, her the image of the tall assassin flashing before her eyes

Others were new to her, someone named Galette, Scotch, Rockstar…. All had been stabbed repeatedly.

It didn't put her at ease at all, if the lunatic was like that when awake, it definitely didn't feel prudent to remain near it when it was released.

She was just about to grab the crate and leave, barge through the door and not care what would stand in her way, but something caught her attention:

Lying off to the side was a piece of paper, well hidden beneath a worn magazine labeled "Bourgeouis' most beautiful".

It was another wanted poster, this one with not only stabmarks, but also slashed right across the throat.

Picking it up, the first thing Vivi noticed was the bounty: 400 million Beli. An impressive tally.

The second was how utterly destroyed it was, looking more like confetti where the face should've been.

The name was barely visibly as well, having received more than a few stabs.

The rest of the poster was partially intact, allowing Vivi to glimpse a few things in the background.

For some reason it contained the back of a head, one that Vivi knew…..

Her hand shot up to cover her mouth trying to stifle a gasp as she recognized Usopps' head, which meant that the wanted poster was Luffy's.

But that didn't matter.

Because less than a split second after she'd recognized her friends' wanted poster, the double doors burst open, the light from a lamb illuminating the room al little more, and also revealing the three crewmembers.

The woman holding a pistol

A short, stout man with a rapier (and the wig)

At last there was the _Beheader_ , a huge ugly man with a scar running across his face, brandishing a heavy cutlass as if it was a kitchen knife and looking at Vivi and Rindo as if he had found a pair of rats in the breakfast.

Behind the trio, the horse was pointing a hoof at them accusingly, while the other hoof held the lamb up for all to see.

"Well, well" _The Beheader_ began, a frown appearing on his marred features

"What have we here?"

* * *

 **And that it for chapter 4  
**

This actually became longer than I expected and planned,

one of the reasons was that I realised that I had to give screentime to some of the characters that I'd decided to include, in this case Rindo of the Kuja, and one of the pirates hunting the girls, or rather just Shirahoshi (I've decided not to reveal him yet, as already I've given plenty of hints of whom it is).

The other women will get a front seat as the story progresses.

but anyway here is chapter 4

which is supposed to take place within about 30-45 minutes, very early in the morning

as always, read and review please.


	5. Chapter 5: Escape

**Chapter 5**

 _Escape from the pirates!_

 _Which Pirates?_

* * *

 **(on a Ship in the New World)**

Vivi shivered at the sight of the pirate trio,

The woman, the stout one and the _Beheader_

the last one levelling his cutlass in her direction, seemingly intent on making her answer his question from before.

Less than a Moment later, he lifted his cutlass, but not to charge and strike at Vivi, but to fend off the crate of food that came flying from the darkness.

Vivi barely had time to see Rindo in the dark, no crate in her arms, looking at her as if to scream "GET MOVING"

Panic kicking in, Vivi reached for the box and began to run towards the door.

Meanwhile, the beheader rushed towards Rindo, who'd managed to get her hands on a weapon.

Vivi gulped at the thought of the Kuja fighting off a blade with a chandelier and shivered as the two combatants came within striking distance.

The cutlass was sure to cut through the chandelier like melted butter!

The sound of the clash wasn't that of a sharp snap, instead it was a drawn out screech sending a metallic scream across the room, and somehow, Vivi was sure it could be heard across the entire ship.

For some reason the chandelier held firm, surprising _the beheader,_ and Vivi, and, assumingly the two other crew members. But the massive warcriminal/cabinboy weren't one to stop attacking after a mere first strike. The two clashed repeatedly, small sparks erupting at each blow.

The other pirates didn't waste time with Rindo but chased after Vivi as she sprinted around the other side of the ironmaiden and jumped up on the large bed, her feet sinking into the soft mattress.

The large contraption had been strangely silent, before making a small jump and give out a timely howl, as if the inhabitant was full aware of everything that went on in the room and wanted part of the action. The sound made Vivi trip and stumble in the blanket, dropping the crate in the same movement.

Neither of the two crew members let the chance pass them by, the stout man jumping on top of Vivi, pinning her down.

Although she struggled, Vivi was forced to stop when she felt an icy chill against her forehead, pressing don heavily.

In the limited light of the lamb, Vivi could just make out that the woman was holding her pistol at her head.

Meanwhile, Rindo and the swordsman were struggling against each other, though the Kuja was having a slight advantage over the far taller man (although he'd come close to decapitating her, evident from the wig on her head being cut halfway up), having pushed him enough backwards towards the double doors that the pair was visible behind the Iron maiden.

"Drop the chandelier or I shoot her" the woman commanded, her voice coming out clear and angry

Rindo didn't react at first, forcing the woman to cock the pistol "I MEAN IT!"

At last the Kuja turned her head, and, seeing they'd been outmaneuvered, dropped the chandelier on the ground. _If Vivi had noticed it, she'd have wondered why it suddenly turned from a black to a golden hue._

The beheader simply held the Kuja at cutlass length, the tip of the weapon firmly placed under the woman's chin.

The next moment saw the other door burst open, the mustachioed guard, whom the infiltrators had evaded earlier, being the first of four crewmembers entering the room, rapiers and pistols drawn.

Seeing their help was better used as guards of the two women, they immediately encircled them holding Viv and Rindo in a corner of the room. Meanwhile the stout pirate (whom the woman called Evelyn) hurried off after some chains, which, probably courtesy of the Ironmaiden in the room, were nearby.

Clasping their hands in iron, Vivi began to grit her teeth at their failed mission.

The woman stood before them next, cleaning her glasses before addressing the two with a glare that could've scared Luffy into eating properly.

"I'm going to give you 1 minute!" she held up an angry finger "to explain what you were doing in the Captains' bedroom"

The captain's bedroom?! Vivi thought before looking at the Ironmaiden with a shocked expression

"….especially with all that food!" the Woman continued, her voice sounding like iron scraping stones.

Vivi cringed at the tone, Rindo merely looked disinterested, which didn't help the woman's mood in any way.

"Answer me!" the words come out slowly, sternly, like red hot metal being struck in a forge. Neither woman reacted much differently than before.

"While you try to interrogate them, and fail…" the Beheader began turning his back to them, walking towards the Ironmaiden "I'm going to make my report to this guy"

"Wha…. Cabinboy that's not, his breakfast isn't ready…" the woman turned around sharply, shaking at the indignation at the mans' attitude towards their captain "And address him as CAPTAIN!" she finished her arms stiff down her sides, fists balling and shoulders shot up towards the ceiling.

The beheader simply stopped in front of the ironmaiden, and, ignoring the woman's protests, took his cutlass and slammed the pummel into the side of the dire looking metal contraption with a loud "CLANG" making most of the crew visibly cringe and look at the man in black as if he was a madman, the kind that'd challenge Whitebeard at the late Yonko's prime.

Then the strangest thing happened

From the Ironmaiden in the middle of the room,

Came a voice,

deep and rumbly as the syllables was bounced off the metal sides and escaped through a small hatch on the front.

"Wha… morning already?"

* * *

( **On the Sunny** )

I'm telling you I can feel they're in danger! poor Vivi-chan!" Sanji complained as he tried, in vain, to prevent Luffy from stealing anymore food from the storage room.

"If you're so worried, take a swim and save them that way, ero-cook" Zoro said, cranky that his morning nap had been interrupted.

"And who'd cook for the women on the ship?" Sanji responded, his eyes turning into little pounding hearts as his imagination began to work, his tongue lopping out of his mouth as the next words passed the perv-chefs' lips "Who'd bring them snacks and tea when they're out _suuuuuunbaaaathiiiiiiiing?_ "

Zoro could only scowl as Sanji began to sway from side to side, his arms firmly clasped around a struggling Luffy. When the Chef began to happily mumble about the women's' clothing, the swordsman had finally had enough

"Nami can do that herself" Zoro's words stopped Sanji in the middle of a "-ikini…." The blonde looking at Zoro as if he'd lost what little wits he had left.

"Nami-scwans' hands are much too delicate for that!" the chef half howled at the swordsman, his arms flailing up and down "She could get blisters or….. or cuts! Her perfectly pure woman hands…"

"Then she can starve" Zoro retorted angrier than before "Like we will if you don't keep Luffy out of the food!"

"How can you say such horrible…. Huh?" Sanji blinked. In his anger at his _comrade_ and his criticism, he'd let go of his captain, whom, at this point, had not only reacjed the food, but was devouring more than his part of it.

Sanji however, managed to tackle the rubberman as he was about to finish gulping down a banana.

Promising to feed him a double portion at lunch (which was unnnecesary since Luffy always had thirds) he managed to keep the rest of the food safe from him.

That unfortunately didn't' help on Carrot, whom by now, had almost singlepawed eaten her way through the crews supply of carrots and vegetables….

* * *

( **on the ship** )

Vivi blinked as she heard the voice from the Ironmaiden.

Unlike the bloodcurdling howl of rage from before, this sounded almost human, and would more so when the person was actually released. Which might be in a while, since the woman with the gun had started yelling at the _Beheader,_ almost as soon as he'd stopped hammering on the ironmaiden.

"Why'd you do that for?! The captain needs at least 8 hours, 11 minutes and 17.8 second of beauty sleep to be perfectæy rested! We're off by at least 4 minutes!"

"I have a report to make first mate, and it couldn't wait!" the larger man retorted, towering over the smaller woman, even with her wig, he'd have scarred even Luffy with his scowl. To the First mates' credit she didn't seem to flinch.

"that can.." she began, before the, assumingly, man in the metal container stopped her

"what report? This better be important new guy! I need 4 more minutes!"

"The days' newspaper" the _Beheader_ simply responded, his face unresponsive as he turned to the iron box containing his captain

"Well what does it say?" the voice was demanding, but for some reason it turned almost melodic when it spoke next "Are there any articles about me in there?"

"Nope" the tall man said, ignoring the annoyed groan from inside the ironmaiden "Accordingly there's still no sign of the missing princesses"

"So no one has captured them yet then, perfect, if it's us the…." The voice in the box began, only to get interrupted by the _beheader_

"The _Cannibal_ has attacked one of Redhairs' territories"

"Daaaah!" the voice groaned indignantly, Vivi couldn't judge whether the captain was angry at the news or the disrespect he was being given, that is until he spoke again "that insufferable nitwit!"

"The alliance of Kidd, Hawkins and the On Air Pirates faced Kaido and lost a while back…."

" **HAhahahahahahahahahaha!** That'll show those upstarts in the Worst Generation!" the captains voice cackled gleefully "What other good news are there?"

"None in the newspaper, but…."

"Captain, sir" the first mate cut in, bowing her head so low it looked like her wig would fall off "My apologies for not waking you at the correct time…" she paused, sending the _beheader_ a hard glare, which surprisingly made the man straighten up, before continuing

"We caught 2 infiltrators, stealing food and entering your bedroom…"

"Entering my… they must be _**FANS!**_!" the voice in the box chimed, the contraption doing a little happy jump that made the chains rattle, which somehow made the whole situation appear like an odd horror version of a classical opera.

The first mates head snapped up "but, captain, they've taken…." She began feebly, straightening up while giving the still dancing ironmaiden a look of exasperation.

" _ **Fans-fans-fans!** Fans for me, fans for my….. MY FANS_!" The captain sung inside his box, the whole container jumping at each syllable.

"let me out, they deserve to see _me_!" the voice half sung and half ordered from the box

"I cannot do that sir…." The first mate began "You haven't been bathed.." she shot a sharp glare at Vivi ad Rindo "NO, YOU CANNOT, JOIN HIM!" before she turned back to her captain-in-a-box, leaving VVivi blushing at the comment and Rindo slightly confused "….Given breakfast, had your hair combed and oile-"

"Basically…." the _beheader_ cut in, clearly out of patience "…. **None** of your usual 4 hour morning prancing in front of a mirror, besides…"

"Then, they'll just have to wait to see _**me,**_ until I'm properly presentable" the voice half sang from inside the box, not bothering to acknowledge the obvious time constraint.

"But… but we can't wait that long!"

All eyes turned to the speaker, which was a slightly flustered Rindo.

"We… we were shipwrecked and our comrades are starving….." the kuja continued, stuttering slightly, making the effect of the damsels in distress all the more evident

"Ye-yes they're waiting for us now" Vivi piped in as soon as she caught her friends' drift "We haven't had much to eat for almost a week"

Silence followed, their captors giving Vivi and Rindo a critical look, not entirely convinced

"Shipwrecked? Why that's PERFECT!" the captain in the Ironmaiden yelled with barely contained glee.

Vivi cringed as the odd man continued to ramble about how much they(or rather he)'d be loved and be in the newspaper if they helped save sailors in need. If the mans' desk was any indication, filled with torn up wanted posters (which included one of her friends'), she was dealing with an absolute madman.

Not that his sleeping accommodations hadn't been a big enough clue.

"Evelyn, get food ready for the fans, I'll be with you shortly, then we'll get them all over on our ship!"

"At once captain" the stout little man replied, bowing deeply in front of the box, despite that there was no way the captain could've seen it.

Vivi felt cold sweat all over her body, she had no intention of staying on a ship that possible also bore the world's biggest narcissist and madman.

Before the stout man could execute the order however, the _Beheader_ spoke again

"Hey guy, can I give you the rest of my report now?"

A moment of silence followed, then two voices, one from within the ironmaiden, and one from without, spoke the exact same words

"CALL HIM/ _ME_ _**CAPTAIN**_ WHEN YOU'RE SAILING ON HIS SHIP!"

The ironmaiden was still trembling, the occupant clearly furious at his (assumed) subordinate, while the first mate had balled both of her fists and with a twitching eye glared at the indignant cabinboy. The _beheader_ , in turn, didn't seem to notice (or chose not to).

"Want it or not?" he said with a weary tone "It might be important"

"…I thought…" the voice of the captain-in-a-box began, still trembling with barely contained anger "…you said there wasn't any more in the newspaper…."

"There isn't…" the cabinboy responded, taking a short break to sigh before continuing "But according to that vivre-card map of yours…. The Boss is coming up from the south"

For a moment time stood still, Vivi not liking the idea of a pirate boss one bit, it set her teeth on edge, then the boxed-captain groaned and whined

"NOOOOOOO! If he gets here, everything'll be ruined!"

"Well…. His crew might have some important intel to share, after all, he knows some of those missing girls…."

"No! He always ruins everything!" the box did a crude shudder as the occupant mumbled incoherently to himself, finally the captain spoke again "What's their course"

"Pretty much straight for us"

A sharp thud erupted from inside the box, and a fist sized lump appeared on the side of it, bulging outwards

No one said a word, either from respect (the first mate), fear (Evelyn and his comrades and Vivi (and Vivi assumed, also Rindo)) or simple disinterest (the _beheader_ ).

"How long till they get here?"

"two days with normal wind, but with the speed their vessel got, it could be far less, they really got a marvellous shipwright on the…"

"Don't you dare use their crews' name when **my fans** are present!" the captain cut in with a shrill shriek "They could be… _swayed_ " the last word had dripped with venom, as if the very notion of it in the current context was sacrilege of the most dire kind.

"Ophelia!"

"Yes captain?" the first mate snapped to attention, a little clipboard, paper and pen appearing out of nowhere in her hands, ready to take notes

"Make sure _**my fans;**_ are given a boat, food and my sincerest apologies that they can't stay with us on our fine ship"

"As You wish captain" Ophelia said, scribbling notes down on the board "May I suggest that you catch up on your sleep-schedule while we draw your bath, prepare your morning wardrobe and see to your fans?"

"Excellent idea!"

As the group was rushed out of the bedroom, Vivi had a hard rime comprehending their luck.

It was both great and horrible, on the one hand, they'd be off this ship soon, with food and a boat (that Ophelia would disregard orders seemed rather Ludacris to her) but they'd be alone in a sea, with some crazed pirate boss coming straight in their direction!

* * *

 **(One the Sunny)**

Nami yawned and took another sip at her tea.

There hadn't been anymore delays on their journey so far, and she honestly needed to try and relax a little. The past few days had been nothing but worry for the missing princesses and it was starting to show. When Usopp had pointed out that she had wrinkles under her eyes, nami knew she had to take a break from all the work.

So after punching the crews' snipers' lights out, she'd grabbed a pot of tea and the newspaper she'd _accidently_ stolen the other day and sat down in the library with Robin.

Chopper had joined them a swell and had quickly fallen asleep with his head resting on Nami's lap.

Nami sighed in a small moment of content before she opened the newspaper.

First article:

 _Forrest octopus season: don't bathe in these forrest lakes…._

Nami looked at the title with an utmost lack of interest, she had a perfectly good bathroom, shower and bathtub on the Sunny, why'd she ever bathe in a forrest lake?

The article didn't say much really, just _beware of_ _the diseases the octopi carried_. Shrugging, Nami thought she could ask Chopper when the Reindeer woke up, if she remembered.

Second article:

 _Black market dealer found dead, investigation impending, authorities are speculating assassination_ "

Nothing worth reading there either, just some stuff about guy who'd been whacked with a blade. Assassination was an obvious possibility especially given his trade in the black market. The article mentioned nothing about a possible motive, but it was the Underworld, so it shouldn't be too hard to find one.

What did peque Nami's interest was that it said that the dealer might've had a devilfruit that'd been taken. While Nami didn't think she'd ever want one herself (if she did, who'd ever save Luffy from drowning? Or Brook, or Chopper, or Robin for that matter) knowing that there were devilfruits out there that might not have been eaten yet was a great way to make quick cash, and Nami always liked that.

Third Article:

 _Large Pirate Crew escaped justice_

As she read it, Nami blinked, and scowled, and then groaned.

When Robin asked what was wrong, Nami only had to show the archaeologist the picture, or rather drawing, of the crews' jolly roger to show what was wrong. The Foxy Pirates had gone from the Grand Line, to the New World, the Flag Luffy'd given them, being quite possibly the ugliest of all pirate motifs (And Nami had seen more than her fair share of those when Big Mom had mustered her fleet in Tottoland).

Hopefully they wouldn't meet Foxy and his crew, they were cheats even by the standard of Pirates. And they'd almost taken Robin and Chopper away from them!

And if they hadn't voted on it, they'd have gotten Foxy….. Nami didn't need much time to conclude that it was a good thing Luffy had decided to take the flag instead.

Taking another sip of tea, Nami briefly looked at the comics section, and moved on immediately. Having met the Germa Kingdoms' royalty she didn't need to be reminded of their secondhand scumbaggishness when fighting the marines propaganda hero Sora. ( _As if a guy with a seagull could defeat those freaks_ )

Not to mention, when the party they'd held before parting ways with Bege and his crew (a _nd Nami's darling godson Pez)_ one of his subordinates Vito had practically showered Sanji with questions about his family, revealing an almost encyclopedic knowledge about the comics and its history in the process. _It had bored Nami more than she thought anything could ever do_.

The fourth and last article was something of a mystery, and one Nami had quietly looked forward to read ever since she'd laid her eyes on it:

 _Where are they now, the former Subordinates of the Whitebeard Pirates_

Considering that Law was trying to find the remnants of the former Yonko crew, ally with them and then take down Kaido (another Yonko!) knowing whom had been supporting them might be a great asset in the future. But given that it said "former" it was all too possible that the crews weren't likely to aid them at all.

Back in the town, Nami had heard the marine captains talk about several crews that had come to _Runny Rum Archipelago_ recently and the article only confirmed it.

 _Whitey bay the Ice witch_ , raider of the winter islands where the conditions only amplified her devilfruit powers.

 _Blondie the Liontamer_ , a man that made a habit of attacking nearly every ship he encountered, leaving the Crews poorer, starving and/or dead.

 _Amadob the conquorer,_ former king of over a dozen small islands and bays, established a new "kingdom" eachtime he had picked the previous one clean of riches. _  
_

 _Slavetaker Hangan,_ A pirate that had assaulted countless prisoner ships and turned their cargo and crew into slaves. _  
_

All of the above had been seen close to Runny Rum Archipelago recently.

Others, though Nami hadn't met them, were people to fear: _Crawling Epoida_ , _the Decalvan brothers_ , _Karma of the 6 swords (ally or not, Zoro would want to fight that one)_ , _Doma the Bohemian Knight, Blubbers Islewan._ It did not say where any of those had gone, but one thing was for sure, they were still active.

The same couldn't be said about almost 20 other crews that had been taken out by someone Edward Weevil or Whitebeard Jr of the shichibukai… Nami shivered as she took in the implications, all of those that had been defeated, A.O, Elmy, Ninth, Ramba (just to name a few), had all been powerful pirates, and Nami was in no hurry to meet another Shichibukai after their fight with Doflamingo. (Technically she hadn't lifted a finger against his crew but she had been forced away)

Looking over the names of those nearby, Nami concluded that she honestly didn't know much about any of them.

But she knew someone who did.

* * *

( **on the pirate ship (or as Vivi had mentally named it: the narcissism flagship)** )

Vivi was happy, though she couldn't afford to show it just yet.

The pirates had given them a boat and almost filled it with food, water and blankets.

In that they'd been kind.

But standing so close to a person called the _beheader_ , wore on her nerves, especially one that kept angrily mumbling that he should've gone to the boss crew instead, where he could have gotten drunk with…. Someone whose name started with "G" and/ or "P", or even an "F". the larger man always kept quiet when the first mate Ophelia looked at him though.

It had gone remarkably fast getting all the supplies in the boat, less than 5 minutes had passed, which meant that there still was a bit of darkness left, just enough to obscure Vivi's face (she reasoned that Rindo's wouldn't be recognised as easily as a princess').

Clearing her throat, the first mate demanded both Vivi's and Rindo's attention

"The captains most sincere apologies for not…." She kept on talking for almost 2 minutes, just listing all of the things Vivi and Rindo wouldn't get to witness (which amongst other things, included the captains entrance (which accordingly to the _beheader_ s mumbled comments was just the guy riding in on the horse with some trumpet and violin racket) a proper breakfast (which sent Vivi's stomach rumbling) and the privilege of seeing the captain stand in the stem of the ship, the wind tugging gently at his luxurious hair (all of which only brought Vivi some flashbacks to a doll she'd had when she was 5, she'd thrown it off the palace when she was 6))

"…..Finally, we wish you a happy journey and please mention the Beautiful pirates when you get rescued, the captains does s like to see his name in the newspaper…." Ophelia finished her monotone rant by crossing off a point on her clipboard before giving Vivi and Rindo an inviting look.

"Well…. Thank you for everything…" Vivi began, knowing what common courtesy required, but shaking a little under the other woman's gaze "We'll be off now…" She was getting nervous, the sun was beginning to shine more brightly now, soon she wouldn't be able to hide her face in the dark.

"One more thing" Ophelia said, just as Viv and Rindo was about to turn and enter the boat.

"We'll need your wig back" She continued, pointing her pen at Vivi "it's the last spare we have left since the other one is ruined" pointing her pen at Rindo's "and we don't have the means to procure more at the moment" when neither of the two infiltrators moved, both all too aware that if Vivi handed her wig over, she'd be recognised and both be busted in a heartbeat.

"It's a uniform thing, we simply must have it for the new cabinboy…" pointing a pen at a now very nervous looking _Beheader,_ the first mate reached out a hand, waiting patiently to receive the wig.

The beheader didn't wait.

Giving both Vivi and Rindo a harsh shove into the boat, he quickly drew his cutlass and chopped at the chains holding the vessel up.

Vivi shrieked as she was the railing of the ship, and the shocked look of the beautiful pirates faces, disappear.

A moment later the boat crashed into the water, bobbing violently on the surface, but not sinking.

As the two women scrambled to get their hands on the oars they were faintly aware of the the fight going on up on the deck.

"We need that wigh for you uniform!" a female voice yelled

"I'm not wearing that horror!" the beheader howled back

Neither on the two took notice that Vivi and Rindo pulled at the oars to get as far away from the ship as possible.

* * *

 **(somewhere in the new world)**

Pell looked at the ocean in the early morning light, the reflection of the sun turning it an odd, but beautiful blend of Orange, green, blue and red, the colour of a child's rainbow.

He honestly preferred his native desserts in Alabasta, it was far safer to fly over those than it was these waters.

He knew her highness was different, she loved the seas, and had had a sort of Homesickness ever since parting ways with the Strawhats.

He also knew that she was going to be ok in the new world, as soon as they found her, and the others.

The last few days had been naught but empty searches for the women, comforting the huge king Neptune, or the old King Riku, both of whose daughters were also missing.

Although he'd tried his best, the Germa princes had always pushed him away and told him to leave royalty to royalty and, akthough he found it obnoxiously rude of the three boys (and their father) he had to take it with grace, since it was their "ships" they were on.

So he had mingled with the staff of the other kings, he'd gotten along famously with Tank Lepanto from Dressrosa, but not so much with Dagama, the tactician from Prodence. The Germa's head chef, the petite Cosette, was a joy to deal with, especially around mealtime (Pell had a faint feeling she was as good a chef as Igaram's wife Terracotta).

Regardless of what relations he had with the other "servants" (as some of the Germa was wont to call them) they all agreed one one thing, they didn't know what their hosts sought to gain by helping their lieges.

And it was starting to wear on Pell's nerves.

* * *

( **on the sea** )

Being bathed in the ships shadow made it hard to see anything, so the two were a bit surprised to see Shirahoshi's head appear from the depths.

"What happened, I heard a lot of scary voices?" the giant mermaid whined, chewing a little on her lower lip to keep it from quivering.

"A lot Shirahoshi-dono, I can't tell you ha-" Vivi began, before Rindo cut her off

"that can wait, please get back in the water so they don't see you, next, swim to the island and get the others to the other side of the island, make sure they're hidden from view"

Shirahoshi blinked, scarred at the commanding tone, but nodding that she understood before disappearing back into the sea.

Vivi scowled at the Kuja "Why'd you have to sound so mean? You know she's fragile"

"Yes, I do" Rindo replied, pulling at the oars again, sending the boat further away from the ship "I also know that the large man said that their boss knew some of our little group"

Vivi gasped at the thought.

She hadn't thought about it herself, but it was true, one in their little group could be connected to the mysterious pirate boss they'd heard of, but whom? And what sort of connection (Vivi was quick to dismiss the idea that Luffy could've become the boss of another pirate crew, didn't seem like his kind of thing)

"It could be an old enemy…." Rindo began, her eyes boring their way into Vivi's, keeping her stock still and at attention "…..or a friend of some sort….. But would they be that to the rest of us?" the implication hang heavily in the air, off course they didn't know anything about the boss, but it was the new World, so they were bound to be fearsome.

Vivi had made more than enough enemies from her baroque works days, and Crocodile was still on the loose (why Luffy freed him, she'd never know) so she didn't like her chances, this was just the sort of thing he'd pull.

Reminding herself that the world didn't revolve around her, Vivi thought about the other women, Rebecca and Viola had been _familiar_ with Doflamingo, and she knew next to nothing about what type of people Shirahoshi was familiar with (fishmen and merfolk obviously, but a lot of pirates went through Fishman island, not to mention; Fishman Island had been Whitebeards territory before his death, the last thing she wanted was for them to become part in some powerplay for that crews recovery).

Then off course, there were the two Kuja, they were far too secretive for Her liking, not even talking about their island home to other women.

The whole situation had begun to smell too fishy for her liking.

"I don't think it's wise to talk too much about what was said on that ship, do you?" Rindo said after a while.

An assertion Vivi could only agree to.

And so the two women kept rowing, as the sun finally rose high enough to show the Beautiful Pirates ship in all it's almost gaudy ostentatiousness.

It was a pretty sight, but not enough to alleviate the feeling that was growing in Vivi's stomach, that she couldn't trust anyone she was travelling with…

And so the pair kept on rowing in silence.

* * *

( **On the sunny** )

Nami had just skipped the last few steps of the stairs and landed lightly on the top deck where the wheel was positioned.

Jinbe-chan still stood behind it, steering the ship as if he was taking a breath, so naturally that it made Nami a little envious, but still glad, since that meant he had attention to spare answering her questions.

"Hoi Nami-san, any changes in the weather?"

"No Jinbe-chan, not at the moment" Nami responded holding up her newspaper "I'm here for something else"

Jinbe raised an eyebrow at her, not certain what it was she wanted, but he nodded almost sagely as soon she had posed her question.

"That is wise, to know whom you can count on when going against Kaido…." He paused, scowling at the the next he was going to say "….and those he might have in his army…."

"Some of Whitebeards subordinates have joined Kaido?" Nami shivered, and not because of the morning wind, it was all due to Jinbe nodding in confirmation "How many?"

"Can't say, Epoida and Islewan are prime candidates, they fit what Kaido likes; beasts…. And savagery…."

"Are there some you doubt would be on his side?"

"Well, Doma and Hangan were both good friends of Ace, so I doubt they'll disregard his memory, but given how the times have changed, with the rise of this new shichibukai, it's almost impossible to tell what'll happen"

"Jinbe-chan, try lightening up a little will you, it's getting hard to be calm with the kind of mood you're having"

"Sorry..." Jinbe responded, bowing his head apologetically "...but you don't need to worry about Whitey..." he quickly moved on, trying to lighten Nami's spirits "She's alright, did some considerable damage at Marineford, her ship rammed straight through Aokiji's ice... or at least so I've heard, we hadn't arrived at the time yet, me and Luffy…" he trailed off

"And all those other prisoners…" Nami continued "Like Buggy, that big headed guy from the Revolutionaries…. And Crocodile" She said the last one reluctantly, remembering Alabasta all too clearly.

"Yes..." Jinbe scoffed "I wasn't too happy about that one either, and I was right, he kept on attacking everything that came in his way"

"Like who?"

Both turned at Zoro came up on the helm, a bottle of Sake already in his hand, and from the sound of it, half-empty.

"Just some stories from Marineford, Some of the guys that went with me and Luffy made quite the carnage….. and chaos"

"Do tell, Hawk Eyes didn't say a word of it during training…" taking a hefty gulp from his bottle, Zoro looked at Jinbe expectantly.

As the two began to chat about the battle, Jinbe going into vivid detail about what had happened after he'd arrived, Nami quickly decided that she didn't need to hear it all. The whole of the New World was littered with powerhouses and monsters, many of whom could take on their crew and deal some serious damage… and she honestly didn't have the nerves to listen to half of them at the moment, not now! Not with so much going on at once.

Seeing the crews' sniper lounging on the lawn deck, Nami smiled as an idea popped up in her head

"Usopp, I think you ought to hear what Jinbe-chan and Zoro are talking about"

"huh?" the long nosed sniper blinked confused at her from beneath his hat, before getting up and going for the stairs, Nami could almost hear him scream in horror at the things he was going to hear.

* * *

( **on the sea** )

After they had feasted on a bounty of dry crackers and canned vegetables, the group had set off again. This time, not riding on Shirahoshi's back, but having the larger Mermaid pull the boat.

Vivi and Rindo had not told the others all that had transpired on the ship, especially about what group of Pirates it was, or about the destructive boss that was coming up from the south.

But they couldn't explain their way out of the one and a half wigs they'd been wearing on their heads.

Viola had been especially persistent about what had happened, but both had held true and not squealed about any more than what was utmost necessary.

But that wasn't a dampener on the mood though, they kept a good speed (Vivi presumed it was true that mermaid were the fastest swimmers in the sea) the weather was warm and the seas calm.

And a full stomach and relative safety was never a dampener on good spirits.

The problems arose when they had to decide where to go.

South wasn't an option in Vivi's mind, and fortunately the way back towards Red Line wasn't in that immediate direction. But the safest bet, atleast for the majority of the group (everyone but Vivi and Rindo) was to sail around and try to find a Marine base, hoping for the best.

Thinking back, Vivi cursed herself for a fool for not asking about a map of the region when she had been on the pirate ship, but then Again, if they truly had been shipwrecked, then they'd naturally already possess one. asking for another would've revealed their duplicity immediatly.

But tghwy had another problem: if they just kept sailing hit herto between the isles there was a chance they'd run into whatever "Boss" the pirates had spoken of….

But she couldn't risk telling the others about it, lest they panic, or worse lie about whom they thought it was.

Despite the idyllic scenery and sailing conditions, it really was a sticky situation they were caught in.

* * *

( **on the Sunny, around Noon** )

Luffy laughed heartily, completely unaware of how traumatized Usopp had become after hearing how the Strawhat captain had gotten the scar on his chest. The look on the snipers' face as Jinbe had elaborated what had preceded it (a lot of the battle of Marineford) was too comical for the Strawhat captain and he subsequently fell on the deck, clutching his sides, laughing all the way.

Usopp looked like he'd eaten another serving of Tatatabasco, and on top of Luffy's Random Curry. His eyes bulging out of his head, looking in two directions, snot and tears dripping from his jaw, that only hung millimetre from the deck. The rest of his body trembled like he was being tickled an was trying to hold in laughter (or was it a nervous breakdown?).

The snipers' response didn't get better when Jinbe showed the damage **he'd** sustained trying to prevent Luffy dying, or when Zoro said he envied it and wanted something similar in the future, lamenting the fact that he hadn't had a good injury in a while…

Nami was a bit ashamed at having caused the snipers misfortune, but she figured he had to become a _courageous warrior of the sea_ somehow (it was his dream after all (and in spite of his personality)) and it wouldn't do if he was still a world class coward when the landed on Elbaf (which was a given, since both Usopp and Luffy had been pretty intent on going there for a while and Hajrudin had spoken so highly of the place, that Nami kinda wanted to go there too and not just to make a map and leave immediately, but actually enjoy the place a little(and steal their gold)).

Sanji was in the kitchen, preparing Lunch (and hopefully steering out of Nami's way for the time being)

Chopper was trying to give Usopp something to calm his nerves (didn't help that it was with a needle, the sniper having a very strong aversion to any sort of penetration at the moment)

Brook was trying too help with some music, which could've helped, if only the song wasn't about bones and skulls and death…

Leaning back in her sun chair, Nami sighed, she had ditched her worries for the time being, even if it was on Usopps expense (but the apparent bonding between Zoro and Jinbe seemed to make up for it).

"Allright the Kitchen's fixed, and the girls bedroom has a new bed too!"

Nami looked at Franky, the huge cyborg making his usual pose, a bunch of planks in one hand and a toolbox dangling from the other.

"That was fast Franky" Robin commented with a content smile from the sunchair next to Nami's

"Yeah, I've been super productive this week" the cyborg exclaimed happily "I'm also done fixing up the girls bedroom and added another bed in the guys'" giving her an enthusiastic thumbs up the cyborg left her to her tanning. Nami sighed contently.

If they didn't get any more delays, they be at the island Sanji described by dusk.

 _If only everything went as smoothly as_ that Nami thought,

before looking over a map of the region one more time _so many places those girls could hide, or be ambushed….._

* * *

( **On Runny Rum Archipelago** )

Amande stood over her younger siblings' bed.

It had gotten late last night, she was willing to admit that much, but still, there were little excuse for sleeping until noon for a grown woman.

She supposed that since Galette's father's tribe was seminocturnal, then Galette would be so too. But this was a sleep that was partially induced by all the drinks she'd had last night, courtesy of all the young bartenders, none of whom she'd given a second look after getting served.

Now she lay there, half snoring, still in the same dress as the night before, and Amande wanted to kick her awake and get to work.

If what they'd done the last few days could ever be classified as work.

Bagging a few captains that Mama might approve of, didn't feel that much like work, more like, networking….

The longneck woman sighed, this whole trip had gotten boring a while ago, but they'd stayed, mostly because of the beaches, the parties (sometimes Galette's hangovers too) and naturally, the restaurants.

The thought of those brought a rare smile to Amande's lips.

The pair had enjoyed an exquisite dinner last night at _Hannibals_ , a restaurant which, though mainly for the elite of the archipelago, had no qualms about serving pirates, if they agreed to be discreet.

With a marinebase towering above the surrounding city and beach, more than a hundred cannons pointing down, capable of making a miniature _Bustercall_ in an instant, most would readily agree.

And even daugthers of Big Mom agreed, when the other clientele included the Vice Admiral in charge of the marinebase.

A woman like themselves. A swordswoman and logia devilfruit user. A woman with both power and authority.

But a marine all the same.

And one they'd best steer clear of for the time being.

But that had become a bit hard. The last few days, more pirates had come and gone from _Runny Rum_ than usually (some, like Amande and Galette(and the captains they'd negotiated with), had overstayed their welcome), and that naturally drew in marines to apprehend them.

Pursing her lips Amande made up her mind.

Picking up the Den den Mushi, she called back to Tottoland, hoping that Mama could be persuaded to end their mission and let them come home…

* * *

 **(one another ship on the sea)**

"You see anything"

"Yeah, I do…."

"Wha? It's not more water again is it? Or sea shells? or waves? You haven't seen any waves in a while!" the last part was spoken with more than a bit of annoyance

"No captain…. I see a mermaid….. a very big, pretty Mermaid…. pulling a boat with other little pretty girls in it…"

"…That's wonderful! Get the ship going, we'll give them a ride, make sure they don't get tired, a few lonely girls can't be alone out here on the sea, there's all sorts of creepy types in these waters"

The two voices were joined by a third as they laughed.

Meanwhile their vessel began to pick up speed,

as it moved closer to the princess' group…..

* * *

 **Fifth chapter end**

My take on how the beautiful pirates would do in a situation like that. All the characters can be found on wiki/Beautiful_Pirates, which I also recommend when reading this fic, I'm going to make a lot of references to different characters, places and things so it's a good idea to use, if you wan't to catch up on all I'm going to babble about.

About the Beautiful pirates, I assumed that Cavendish would require special sleeping accomodations due to his condition, and have his horse close by. Ophelia and Evelyn are based on the foremost characters on the cover of chapter 867.

Obviously most of the nicknames and backstories of the pirates mentioned in the newspaper are not on the wiki, those are my own ideas, some will be used later, but not all.

I'll try to pick up the pace over the next chapter or two, making something exciting happen,

they've spent some time searching now and it's time to move this tale up in gear.

RnR as you please kind readers


	6. Chapter 6: the hunt is on!

**Chapter 6**

 **The hunt is on!**

* * *

( **On the seas** )

Viola blinked.

The afternoon sun was showering the boat with its' warm rays and even with the sea breeze cooling them down a little, it was starting to get unbearable.

Next to her, Rebecca was starting to get a prominent tan, and sine they had no idea when they might find water next, the barrel they had had to be rationed. Or at least that was what the dark haired kuja had argued, and Viola had agreed, even if she was suspicious of both the of the women that had procured their craft.

Neither had gone into specific detail about how exactly they'd gotten the dinghy, and those wigs they'd worn were just too suspicious. Viola vaguely remembered something about wigs and Bourgeois kingdom, but nothing specific.

Viola didn't like being kept in the dark, but she'd had no chance to use her devilfruit powers and get a good look at any of the other women's memories. Each time she tried, one of them would watch her like a hawk. The Alabastan princess and the dark haired Kuja were particularly attentive to the others' behaviour, nothing seemed to miss this Rindo's notice in particular.

All the warrior woman seemed to do was take mental notes of all the rest of the women did.

Vivi was more subtle in her approach, making pleasant small talk with Rebecca (Viola had a faint feeling she'd have to step in at some point) or Shirahoshi, when the huge mermaid wasn't steering clear of a reef or a particularly large piece of flotsam. The sixth member of their group, the Kuja marguerite, had taken a position of lookout, though the girls' skill at it was debatable, leaning over the side of the ship and simply looking bored into the shifting horizon.

Viola briefly considered telling her that it helped to look in different directions, but then something happened.

Viola knew something was wrong when the boat bumped into Shirahoshi's giantsized head.

They hadn't gone very fast, so the thud was a small one, and Shirahoshi didn't complain about it, the mermaid simply stared ahead at the water in confusion.

Tracking her line of sight, Viola was faintly aware of a dark form in the water, coming towards the surface, getting bigger and bigger.

The spot exploded…

And as Viola watched the incoming tidal wave, she barely had time to think the words _I wish Sanji or Strawhat-san was here…_

* * *

 **(On the Sunny, the kitchen)**

Sanji's head shot up in attention, the speed ad his blonde hair making it look like a lightning bolt in reverse. His sudden movement startled Chopper, sending the little reindeer flying backwards from the table, the book he was reading landing on the floor with a thud.

The ships' doctor didn't land as much as bounce, as he activated his guard point filling most of the second half of the kitchen. Others in the kitchen would've been squashed against the wall. Which was where Brook had ended up.

"My blood is being squished out of my body, if I had blood Yohohohoho" the skeleton hummed, his bony hand (the only part of him that was visible behind Chopper's fur…. _armour_ ) clapping against the wall rhythmically.

Chopper looked at Sanji, his surprice from before still evident in his voice "SANJI WHA?" a second look at the chef's face made him stop.

Sanji's face was completely beetred, steam coming out of his nostrils with each breath, like the chimney of a locomotive. His eyes were wild and bulging outwwards, as if they were watching something far off in the distance that defied belief. In truth it seemed nothing mattered to him between himself and whatever it was he saw, which to Chopper seemed to include the crew and himself.

As the doctor slowly slid across the floor, he was afraid to cancel his guardpoint, lest Sanji did something unexpected, trying to get to the Chef's side, comfort his friend and see if he could ease the tension that was building up within the third Vinsmoke son.

Sanji, in the meantime, had begun to shake, which in itself was dangerous, since he had in the middle of dicing some of the few vegetables they had left after Carrot and Luffy's raid on the storage room. On the cutting board in front of him, the knifes' edge was slashing down in tune with his shaking, turning the vegetables into an unrecognisable multicoloured mush.

Looking at the chef again, Chopper concluded that he was still caught in some strange vision, a vision of something, that both aroused him and terrified him in equal measures.

Basically, Sanji looked as if he was running a marathon, where the nearest contestants in front of him were a mixed group of marriage happy Okama in dresses….. and topless mermaids.

Caught between a sight of absolute bliss and one of deep and disturbing horror (to Sanji at least) the chef stood in a state of near shock.

"Sanji…..?" Chopper began, unsure of what to say, he wasn't used to Sanji acting like this unless there were women present, and right now there weren't any within sight.

"Sanji-san?" Chopper began, his voice trembling in worry as he reached out a hoof to take the chefs' temperature.

When he was less than a hairsbreath away from touching the Chefs' forehead, Sanji opened his mouth

"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" the howl startled Chopper, and if he hadn't been in his guard-mode he'd have stepped backwards, tripped and fallen. Fortunately his bloated form prevented that from happening. It also prevented Sanji from leaving the kitchen. Though not for lack of trying, as the chefs' frantic attempts were beginning to make permanent marks in Choppers fur, where Sanji smashed into it at full speed (which really shouldn't even be possible due to lack of space).

"Sanji! What's wrong?!" Chopper yelled at his comrade, trying to restrain him as best he could, which, in his guard point was a near impossible task.

"THE PRINCESS-CHANS ARE IN DANGER! I CAN FEEEL IIIIITTTT!" the chef wailed in desperation, while his constant running into Choppers' fur was beginning to leave two sets of grooves into the floor "I could see them again!"

"Could you see their panties?" Brooke mumbled somewhere between the wall and Choppers' fur, the skeletons' words barely audible through the hair.

"NO..." the chef replied nonetheless, his face downcast for the briefest of seconds, only to snap up again like a reversed lightning bolt, his eyes huge and wild "BUT I KNOW THEY'RE IN DANGER!"

"SANJI, REMEMBER WHAT HAPPENED LAST TIME!" Chopper screamed frantically as he tried to prevent the chef from squeezing in between his fur and the wall, completely ignoring the obvious exit of the windows.

But the chef kept going, pushing himself in between floorboards and bodyhair, and straight into Brook.

At which point he actually stopped to curse at the skeleton, telling him to get out of the way, so that he could go save the Princess-chans.

Chopper finally had had enough and changed into his **muscle point,** catching Sanji in a bearhug and lifting the struggling chef off the ground, preventing him from getting contact with the floor.

While the chef tried to runn off on thin air, Brooke landed on the floor with barely a sound.

"I thought I was going to die, I had no air, but I don't have any lungs! Yohohohoho!"

"Let me go Chopper!" Sanji said, ignoring the musician completely "I've got to tell Jinbe to change course!"

"Sanji, listen to me, last time, Nami got really mad, and Jinbe wasn't happy either, or franky…. Or…."

"I get it Chopper….." the chef said crestfallen, remembering the scorn in the navigators leering at him, it would be some time before she forgave him what he did in Tottoland "But if I'm right and we do nothing, then those little princess-chans are more in danger than before!"

"I know, I know" Chopper said soothingly, understanding the logic (screwed as it was) that the chef was trying to push, but not completely buying into it.

"Tell you what…" Chopper began "I'll carry you out and then we'll talk with the others, ok?"

Sanji's grateful smile practically lit up the room, But Chopper refused to release him, just yet.

* * *

( **on the sea** )

The combined scream of the six women would have been enough to make an army deaf.

It would've had that effect on the fish, if the critters hadn't taken off before….. whatever it was, began to approach the surface.

"SHIRAHOSHI-SAN!" Viola and Vivi called out in unison "SWIM!"

Their combined howl managed to get the huge mermaid to whip around and swim in the other direction of the fast approaching shape.

Looking back at the rising water, Vivi briefly thought it could be a Knock Up Stream she'd heard tales of, but then it happened.

The form broke the waters' surface with a sound like 10 thundercracks going off at once. In a shower of brine, seaweed and other critters of the sea, a titanic dark form emerged from the deeps. It was several times the size of Shirahoshi, covered in scales, dark like a moonless night, a cruel gleam in either of its red eyes, huge triangular teeth in a mouth that could only be described as smiling and a pair of vicious horns on the side of its' head.

Less than a moment later the fish charged after them, it's huge fins carrying it forward at almost the same speed of Shirahoshi. Which unfortunately wasn't slower.

A collective scream came out as the women saw that the blasted fish was gaining on them!

"What is that thing?" The blonde Kuja Marguerite yelled, part in fear and part in excitement "how dangerous is it?"

"IT'S A FIGHTING FISH!" Viola yelled back "AS BIG AS THEY'RE DANGEROUS!"

The small craft sped across, and through, the waves, as the giant mermaid princess tried to shake off the gargantuan fish.

Meanwhile the other five women clung to the vessel as best they could, Marguerite in the stern, Vivi and Viola in the middle, and Rindo and Rebecca making up the rear, which was far too close to the charging fish.

Vivi could barely hear what Rindo was shouting to the Pink haired girl, sounded oddly like "Unless _Lucy_ is a cannon, she's useless now!"

Picking up a crate of food, Rindo flung it at the humongous fish.

Vivi could understand why, if the fish was hungry, it'd have an easier time with prey that couldn't escape. Or, if she could hit it hard enough, it might back off.

Although it couldn't be heard amidst the splashing off water and the womens' terrified screams, Vivi would've sworn the crate made a loud crash as it shattered against the forehead of the titanic fish, scattering splinters, nails and beef jerky across it's eyes.

But to no avail, the beast continued to gain on them.

Mermaids might be the fastest swimmers in the sea, but when they were trapped near the surface their movements were limited, and dragging a boat, no matter how small, didn't aid Shirahoshi one bit.

And the huge fish kept on coming…

* * *

 **(On the Sunny)**

"No, Luffy, I don't believe you either!" Nami said with a groan, pinching the bridge of her nose, trying, in vain, to squeeze out the headache that would soon be assaulting her.

Less than a minute ago, Luffy had stormed up on the bridge to tell Jinbe to change course. Fortunately, the fishman hadn't been able to catch heads or tails of what his new captain was saying and had tried to ignore it like some sort of blackhaired hyperactive parrot-monkey.

And even more fortunately, Nami had been there to stop Luffy from trying to force his will on their newest member. After having heard where and why'd he wanted the course changed, Nami had exchanged a look with Jinbe that could practically count as a whole conversation, which boiled down to that both thought he was being unreasonable (more than usual).

"But Namiiiiiii" Luffy whined "I'm the captain, I can tell Jinbe where to gooooo"

"Technically, he's right Nami-san" Jinbe piped in behind her. Turning around Nami cocked an eyebrow at her new nakama. The former Shichibukai would have to learn how things were done around the Sunny, and it seemed it couldn't happen soon enough

"JInbe-chan, Luffy's the captain, but unless we're fighting someone or are going to…." She began, her voice sounding sugary sweet, as if she was explaining something to a child "….then Luffy doesn't give any orders on this ship!" realising how it had sounded, Nami hurriedly added; "….Without having first consulted me, or the rest of the crew"

Hopefully their new helmsman would understand, that if they followed Luffy's lead on making a course, he'd have sent them off on a Knock Up Stream to the moon (and tried to jump back down again, just like he had when they'd left Zou…)

Now it was Jinbe's turn to raise an eyebrow "But since we're going to save the missing princesses and we're in the New World, then we're automatically going to fight somebody"

Despite herself, Nami was forced to defer to the simple logic in Jinbe's argument, but perhaps it was a tad too simple…..

"Yeah!" Luffy said, raising a fist in the air "Let's get to fighting someone!"

…..especially if Luffy could catch on!

"No Luffy, it's a really stupid idea!" she tried again, her tone harsher this time "We're still following up on Sanji's weird hutch afterall!" Nami shouted at him, hoping that some of her words would get through "Besides, fighting is the last thing we should do right now, both you and Jinbe're still wounded after facing Big Mom!"

Luffy simply pouted at her, knowing, despite himself, that he couldn't argue with his navigator, so he resolved to try and guilt trip her into doing what he said.

Nami wasn't budging.

Neither was Jinbe (much to Nami's joy)

Or Luffy (less to Nami's joy)

And so it came to pass, that when Chopper, in his muscle-point form, arrived on the bridge with a struggling Sanji in his grip, he found his captain, his navigator and Jinbe, embroiled in a hefty argument over which way the Sunny should go.

Nami was the first to notice the Reindeer, looking at the trio with something between awe of their behaviour and reverence of the energy his two patients could muster when trying to get their way.

And a third feeling of course; the shock at his "doctors orders" being ignored. (Nami truthfully didn't know how that could still surprise the crews' doctor, he should be used to it by now)

Sanji was looking at her with his usual happy/lusty face, but at the same time, was trying to run on the air, away from Choppers bearhug.

"Hey Chopper…" Nami began with a smile, ignoring the struggling Chef in his arms "how're you doing?"

The reindeer could only look at Nami, pain evident in his eyes, as Jinbe and Luffy continued to argue in front of him

"Why can't those two just do what I say and take it easy?" he said in a shrill tone, his eyes bulging at the sight of his friends, as the rubber- and the fishman looked like they were about to come to blows.

Nami couldn't agree more, either of the two were acting childishly in their own way, Luffy for wanting adventure, Jinbe for insisting he'd be ok, despite being the most injured of the two.

Letting out a sigh, Nami held up a hand between the two, which surprisingly made them stop arguing momentarily and turn their attention to her.

"First off….." Nami began, her eyes closed, her tone dignified and commanding….

"Kawaiii Nami-scwannn" Sanji said from the hold of Chopper, not being able to stop himself

"First off…." Nami repeated, as a vein began to throb in her forehead over the interruption "Jinbe; **go, and rest**! you're wounded, even more than Luffy is." Opening her eyes to look at the former Shichibukai, she was pleased to see him nod his consent, albeit reluctantly and a bit of a pout (Nami, despite herself, couldn't help but find it adorable).

Turning to Luffy, Nami tried to at least sound like she respected her captain, which wasn't always an easy thing to do "Luffy, we're not changing course because you think you've seen something like Sanji did, do you understand?"

"Wait…. did Luffy see something too?" Sanji said from the hold of Chopper, looking at his captain in confusion.

"Yeah!" Luffy responded loudly "I saw Rebecca in a boat!"

Sanji looked at him in confusion, but only for a brief second before the hairs on his head began to stand up and his eyes turn into little hearts.

"Who's Rebecca" he howled amorously, before adding a jealous "…And how do you know her Luffy?"

"Rebecca is the granddaughter of the King of Dressrosa, and the niece of their princess Viola"

Nami smiled at the sight of Robin arriving on the bridge, drawn by either the commotion between Luffy and Jinbe (and Nami herself) or the crews' doctor restrain/carrying the Vinsmoke prince.

Sanji struggled to look at Robin, but Chopper refused to turn, much to the chefs protests and wailing, all of which fortunately stopped when Robin walked on past the reindeer to address them all.

"Viola-chan has a niece?" Sanji blurted out with hearts in his eyes picturing the curvy princess sitting with a little childlike double on her knee "how cuuuuute!"

Robin merely smiled at his facial expression, Nami rolled her eyes at him.

"Doesn't matter!" She said, drawing everyones attention "It's bad enough we're trying to look into Sanji's… premonition, we can't go out and follow another without verifying the first one!"

"But Nami-schwann! I saw them again! Viola-schwaaan was in a boat and in danger!" Sanji wailed, thoughts about the princess niece forgotten (temporarily).

"Yeah I saw that too!" Luffy cut in "We gotta do something, else they get to hog all the fun!"

For a moment, Nami and the crew present looked flabbergasted at their captain, each sweatdropping as his words sunk in.

"…..Luffy-san, Nami-san is right" Jinbe said after a brief time "we can't go following some loose end that suddenly strikes us in this" locking eyes with his captain, making sure he had his attention, Jinbe continued "If we want to find the missing women, we can't afford to be distracted by sudden new developments"

Nami looked at the fishman and smiled, " _Luffy'll listen to Jinbe for sure….",_ she thought "….. _might be the blood transfusion he got on Fishman Island"._

"But isn't that what we're doing now?" Luffy asked while scratching beneath his Strawhat "Following Sanji's lead?"

Nami shoulders dropped with a sigh " _of course he chooses now to be right!"_ she thought "the reason why we're following Sanji's hutch…" she said in a tired voice while rubbing her temple "….Is because what he saw, matched the maps we've got of this area!"

Looking at Luffy, Nami continued "You just said Rebecca was in a boat and there were some giant fish after it"

"Isn't that enough?"

"…..No, we need landmarks and maps to find our friends…. A hutch….. isn't enough"

"….. Okay, you're the navigator" Luffy said with a smile as he walked past her towards the main deck, giving her a clap in the shoulder as he went.

Nami looked dumbfounded after him, it seemed like he actually listened for once!

She was just to smile herself when Luffy turned around on his heel "Sanji, let's take the sub and go find them ourselves!"

The collective roar of disapproval was deafening (minus Sanji, who was cheering), and somewhere on the ship, Nami was certain that they'd managed to wake up Zoro from his morning nap.

"We can't be separated either! We always separate, and things get crazy!" Nami almost yelled at him.

"But we always win too!" Luffy grinned with the utmost confidence, waving at her happily "that's adventure!"

"When we separate, it's because we got different tasks Luffy!" Nami tried to reason, who became visibly happy when the others chimed in.

"You're wounded Luffy, going on adventure is the opposite of taking it easy!" Chopper wailed in frustration, his grip tightening around a struggling Sanji.

"Spreading in all sorts of directions won't help Luffy-san" Jinbe added

"Can you even pilot the sub captain?" Robin commented, to which Luffy finally responded, almost too gleefully for comfort "That's why I'm bringing Sanji!"

"I'M IN!" Sanji happily yelped from Choppers grip, much to Nami's dismay, she'd just gotten used to proper food again, after the disaster of Luffy's curry (which still made several of them wake up in the middle of the night (Nami reasoned that Big mom probably had it worse, since she'd actually eaten the blasted dish, after it had matured for several days in the sea)).

Looking at Chopper, she knew he felt likewise.

Thinking fast, she called out Luffy "It's almost time for lunch!"

This made Luffy pause, and his stomach rumble, there was no way in either heaven or hell that the Strawhat captain would skip a meal.

"Guess, we can go after lunch…." He murmured to himself

"We sure can Luffy!" Sanji piped in, the look on his face speaking volumes about what he was thinking, which could also simply be summarized with; Women, young beautiful women.

"Luffy if you take that sub I'll charge you all of your allowance" Nami ranted "No additional meat for a week!"

That made Luffy pause, the man with the courage to willingly charge at a Yonko, rip his own arms off in order to save a friend and jump off a mile high elephant into the sea, was shivering in cod sweat at the thought of no meat for a week. There was no doubt in Nami's mind that he wouldn't attempt to take the sub now.

"I still want to save them!" Sanji howled happily, his words and tone betraying his inner thoughts to all who heard him "If Luffy can't go, I can do it alone!"

"Sanji…" Nami began, now more tired than before "….Remember last time you decided to run off, pursuing your own goals?"

Her tone made Sanji shiver and her words filled his eyes with tears. It was almost too harsh to remind him of his actions inTottoland, but Nami steeled herself and stared him down. Eventually the Chef bowed his head in defeat.

Nami got more than a few critical stares from the others for her behaviour, but, as Sanji was taken back to the kitchen and Luffy rushed after him to get a snack, the navigator figured it was the better outcome, as opposed to continuing their banter back and forth.

They were all together right now, and that was what mattered.

On the bridge, Nami was left with Robin for company as Jinbe left the wheel to rest some more, being one of the few people to obey Choppers' orders.

The wind picked up a little, the sails filling, making them go at a swifter pace across the waves. Everything seemed so serene.

Robin stood with her arms folded, looking down at her feet. Nami looked straight ahead while holding the wheel steady.

Both felt, rather than knew what was coming.

With a sigh Robin began "I don't know what happened but…."

"I'm not going to be easy on Sanji, Robin" Nami cut her off, turning towards her friend "You're right you weren't there, but I was…. And I can't forgive him for what he did, perhaps in the future when Luffy's _punishment_ can be realised, but that could take years….." Nami said, her voice betraying bitterness wrestling frustration for dominance of every word.

Robin sighed "It's not easy to forgive, I know…. But you might want to cut a little down on the antagonism in the future"

Nami nodded reluctantly. Sanji had failed her expectations when he started to bad mouth the crew and even more when he had assaulted Luffy, beating him into unconsciousness and then proceeded to ignore both the navigator and captain.

It'd take a long time to get over, and while some of the crew (Chopper, Carrot, Brook and Luffy) had decided to let it go and focus on the good times, Nami wasn't willing to let it go. She knew Zoro agreed with her, though he was more into it for the sake of principal (and for an excuse to put down Sanji), same with Jinbe.

Franky and Usopp hadn't made their views on the subject known, though nami knew both were sympathising with Sanji's situation.

Robin had as of yet not taken a side on the matter.

Nami sighed, if she continued to be angry with the chef, the rest of the crew would be as angry at her as she were with Sanji. _Well, perhaps not as angry…._

But she couldn't do that at the moment.

She had other concerns,

In fact, she reasoned,

If Sanji, and now luffy as well, were correct and the missing princesses were in immediate danger,

Then the whole crew would be far more focussed on getting to them in time!

* * *

( **on the sea** )

Things looked really bad!

Not only had the gargantuan fish almost caught up with them, it had gotten reinforcements!

Several of the bullhorned fish had appeared from the depths, fanged mouths smiling at a world that would rather see them extinct.

Vivi definitely knew that she wanted them gone.

Snapping jaws and razor teeth had that effect on any sane person.

To her horror,

The ever growing school of predatory fish had begun to circle them!

Some of the smaller ones had gone in from the left and were cutting off a possible escape route to the open seas.

Shirahoshi took a sharp right turn and aimed for a group of small rocky islands in the distance hoping to lose the larger fish amongst the beaches and reefs of the archipelago.

Speeding between the isles helped a little as several of the fish began to gather closely, getting in the larger fish's path.

Others completely disappeared.

Only to reappear amongst the other isles moments later.

To Vivi, it shouldn't be possible to go that fast, but there they were, exactly where they we the least convenient.

They girls' group was beginning to be boxed in.

The giant fish had some trouble manoeuvring in the more shallow waters, yet it still blocked an exit that could've been exploited. The fish behind it had begun to turn back or swim in between the smaller isles where the big one couldn't follow the group.

Shirahoshi attempted to escape with the boat in in more shallow waters, but it wasn't easy amongst the steep cliffs of the isles. Once in a while the isles had little beaches, but they provided no security from the pursuing predators of the depts.

And so, on they mermaid drawn boat went, playing a deadly game of cat and mouse in between the cliffs, isles and reefs of the sea.

But somehow it seemed like the fish were gaining on them.

But as the wind picked up, a sheet of heavy fog began to appear between the isles and cliffs.

Thick as pea soup, it might be enough to hide in and escape.

Or it could hide the blasted fish from their sights!

* * *

( **Somewhere else on the seas** )

"Are you certain (koff-koff) it's a good idea to split up Ilizabello-Dono?(koff)" the ragged voice of Nefeltari Cobra said from his wheelchair, making Pell put a supporting hand on his shoulder, steadying his liege.

"I'm telling you, we're not splitting up, just going into town, hearing what's up" The huge king of Prodence responded with a booming voice, dismissing his coleagues' worries with the wave of a hand.

"Even so Elizabello-dono" Vinsmoke Judge said, eyes deep in contemplation "You're not needed for such a task, also; we have enough men to conduct such a search ourselves"

Ilizabello was silent, chewing a little on his lip, while glancing back at the boat that was being filled with the Germa Kingdoms soldiers.

"If I may Judge-dono" Riku Dold III said, adding his voice to the arguemtn "I think that Ilizabello is just tired of lounging around in you castles, truth be told we have been cooped up in here for far too long anyhow"

"Exactly!" Elizabello bellowed happily, holding up a glowed hand, the shape of which, seemed to indicate that he was holding up a finger.

"Well..." Judge mumbled hesistantly "...at least let one of my children accompany you, My Daughter perhaps..." Judge said wiiht a smirk

"If it's all the same to you, I'd rather not, if My wife hears that I've spent too much time with a young woman... well she'd KILL me!" the figthing king responded with a sheepish (and very nervous) grin "But if you insist, I guess one of your sons could come with, they guys needs to be let alone for a change don't they?" as the huge man laughed, he failed to notice the Germa King's frown.

"Well, Niji can go with you" the beligerrent king conceded "...while we're at it, I might as well send my headchef to find provisions for tonights dinner" he added practically

"Excellent idea! That girl knows what's what in a kitchen!"

Seing the larger king descend to wards the sea with the second son of the Germa king, Cobra motioned to Pell to turn his chair towards the larger Germa King

"Say, Judge-dono..." He began, drawing his colleagues' attention "I'd like to thank you for all the help You've provided us in this endeavour, I know that the other Kings feel similarly"

Judge merely smiled, leaning towards his sick equal "We can discuss such things after we've saved your daughters" the smile was one part pleasantness and one part dismissiveness, and all of it was fake to the core "I'm certain that the Pirate Empress will be interested in showing her appreciation for saving her subjects as well" Seeing the lecherous spark in his alabastan counterparts eyes, Judge continued "And I'm certain you'd agree, that it'd be most uncouth of me, not to include her emminence in the celebrations"

Seeing Cobra nod (very enthusiastically) in agreement, Judge turned and left.

Pell watched him go with unease

"That man is planning something my King, I just know it!"

"Huh?" Cobra responded, his mind being filled with images of a provocatively dressed and very drunk Boa Hancock, lounging across his lab, petting him to see if he'd get better "...Yes of course, he constantly surrounds us with his children, his strongest warriors... But it doesn't feel like he's holding us hostage, not yet at least"

"True, but what about later on? There's several Kingdoms in Norht Blue that spoke of his cruelty during wars against them, perhaps he'd use this to gather funding for another attempt to conquor that Sea"

"Or he's trying to improve his image and go the diplomatic route...hmmm... I don't know, I guess we'll see later down the line"

"As you say your highness" Pell conceded, taking a quick look at the boat with the Prodence King and the Germa prince (and the Germa headchef) as it crested the waves towards the island town in the distance.

Then he turned his Kings' wheelchair around and pushed the feeble king back inside, sheltering him from the elements.

* * *

( **back amongst the rocky isles** )

Vivi Screamed as one of the fish suddenly came flying through the mists, presumably over one of the rocky isles, slamming into the cliffs, shattering rocks with a crash that reverberated throught the archiepelago and landing in the water with a splash.

to her relief it seemed that it wasn't going to attack them, lying belly up in the water.

"That thing didn't make that leap" Vivi turned as she heard her companions voice

"What do you mean Rindo-san?"

"If those fish could jump that far, the others would've done it too, out on the sea, something hit it..."

Vivi didn't like what she was hearing, they had enough trouble dealling with the pursuing fish within the cliffs, to also deal with some threat outside of it would be far too much for them.

Shirahoshi looked tired, pulling hard on a a boat with 5 women and supplies for a long time, would do that. Though it might also be panic setting in.

Either way, nothing seemed to go their way.

eventually the group came into a large area betweent the cliffs, like a natural lake in a forrest, with many of the Figthing Fish coming in from the many inlets between the cliffs, their grins shinning like yellow gems or rusted swords amidst the white foam of the waves.

Shirahoshi did a sharp rightturn, avoiding a crazy eyed fish that jumped out of the water to their left.

"Over there!" Marguerite called out, pointing wildly "to the east, there's an inlet that's clear!"

Following her instructions, Vivi saw that the Kuja was right, there, far away and partially obscureed in the mist, was an inlet clear of fish, and large enough for them to pass through!

Shirahoshi had seen it too and gathering her strenght, maded a desparate lunge towards the opening, increasing the speed so much that Vivi was certain that someone would fall off alongside some of the boxes of food that were lost to the sea.

The sound of wood snapping behind them gave an all too clear impression of what awaited them, if they slowed down.

Finally they reached the mouth of the inlet,

and Shirahoshi made a quick twist, turning the boat around so hard that it threatened to spin around and throw them all off (it certainly threw a few boxes off), regardless it stopped the group dead in their tracks!

Vivi watched in despair as she realised why the mermaid princess had spun around;

A large boat blocked their furhter passage!

It was partially concealed by the mists hiding any details, but it was close enough to see, that it was comming closer.

then a shape appeared on the deck, holding something raised in its arms.

in the next second a sound rose between the cliffs, a drawn out tone, and then the shape lowered the object.

It wasn't the weirdest part however,

the fish stopped at the sound, and began to form a semicircle around the mouth of the inlet, blocking any escape route.

No one needed to say anything, everyone knew they were trapped.

eventuallly the other boat stopped in the mouth of the inlet, revealing it in all its bizarreness.

It was an odd mix of shapes, all made in metal, paddlewheels, large pistons and round shapes making it look like something out of a laboratory, with a tower on! Behind the structure there was something large made of glass and filled with water, looking like an oversized fishbowl. On top of it flew a little flag, a Jolly Roger, that was a skull with a underbite like a showel.

And then there was the crew...

Only three humanoids were out on the deck, and somehow, Vivi wasn't surprised to see that it was all Fishmen.

all lining up in the front of the boat, gave all the impression that any one could ever need.

The trio all appeared like brutes, clear eyes looking lazily at the women in the smalller boat.

One didn't have a neck, his green scaly head with the heavy lips seemingly poking directly out of his chest

Another had bulging eyes and huge lips, his hair put in a tight pony tail

the last one had a protruding fanged lower jaw that matched the Jolly Roger, which in Vivi's mind marked him as the captain, eventhough he had the same brutish look as his comrades.

all three were covered in tatooes of different sorts, made all the more prominent by the open shirts and shorts.

"Wait..." Shirahoshi began her voice trembling "You're Sun Pirates!"

"Wha... how can you be so sure!" Viola called out in confusion

"That tattoo, the one of the Sun, I've... I've seen it before, on a Sun Pirate!" Shirahoshi said, her voice filled with excitement at the memory

the mermaids' words made the women look at the trio with greater anticipation than before.

The leader of the group looked at them and opened his mouth, only for the bulge eyed one to cut him off

"We were Sun Pirates, back in Tigers' days!"

Looking at his friend, the leader scowled at him

"Shut it Gyaru!" he growled menacingly, making the other fishman cower back with shaking hands raised, tryinf to avert any threats.

Turning back towards the women, the fishman opened his mouth to speak again, before turning his head around with a snap to stare at Gyaru, who had just opened his mouth to speak, but was not closing it again, wiping his fingers across his lips like a zipper.

Nodding his head in satisfaction the fishman captain turned towards the women again, a smile now playing on his lips.

"You girls understand this..." he began, before the other crewmember interrupted him

"Mermaid, get in the tank, We'll sell the others too"

the following silence that descended upon the waters couldn't have been broken by a twenty cannon salute. All the women stared at the Fishman, all thinking the same thing; **_Did I hear that right?!_**

"TANSUI!" the captain began, his voice strained to the point of breaking and his whole form trembling in barely contained rage

"You were taking too long Macro, besides that's what we're gonna do ain't it?"

Sighing deeply, the captain turned towards the boat once more

"You heard him, get in the tank" he said in a commanding, yet tired voice, before he added an "or else...", with an emphathized menace in the latter word

"Or else what?" Gyaru asked, looking at his captain in confusion

"Else we'll make 'em walk the plank over the fighting fish, what else! We can't just feed 'em to 'em, they're still worth money!" Macro howled impatiently at his dimwitted underling.

"I thought the Sun Pirates were friendly?!" Shirahoshi blabbered, her voice on the point of breaking, either from stress accumolated over the last few days, or from the betrayal of her fellow denizins of the sea.

"We were part of the crew, but that was long ago" Macro corrected her "Jinbe wasn't Tiger and he never could be! Kicked out Arlong and his boys aas if they were trash!" Macro said with a trembling fist, his face contorted even further in an angry grimace.

"Nuff talking! Get in the blasted tank so we can get out of here!"

Macro smiled grimly "You lot will fetch a good price at Big Moms'!"

* * *

that's the end of the sixth chapter

it sure took a while to finish,

I've been a bit busy with some other things lately, so haven't had the time to write.

threads active in this chapter:

 **Strawhat Pirates:** Sanji has more perv-voyancy, and Luffy devellops some similar abilities.

 **The missing Princesses/women:** tries to outrun a group of figthing fish.

 **Princess hunters:** The Macro Pirates

 **The royals** : Setting out to get intel, the interrogators being the least subtle king they've got.

RnR if you'd be so kind

I'll try and update soon


	7. Chapter 7: What's going on?

**Blood ties like Iron Binds chapter 7**

 **What's going on and where are we going?**

* * *

 **(Within the rocky archiepelago)**

Viola watched the slavers with growing dread bubbling away at the bottom of her throat. **  
**

She didn't need her devilfruit to know that those three pirates meant to sell them off, and to Big Mom no less.

although she had never met the Queen of Totto Land, she knew enough of her to dread meeting the older monster-of-a-woman. Doflamingo hadn't messed with her and that in itself spoke volumes. If they got under her thrall, there wasn't a shadow of doubt that they'd be married off to some horrid monster son of hers... And while Viola didn't doubt it'd be a beautiful ceremony, dress and food (one thing Big Mom was unlikely to skimp upon), imagining herself, or Rebecca walk down the aisle with a son of Big Mom, was beyond horrifying!

There had to be some sort of way out!

but behind them there were the Figthing fish, swimming in a semicircle preventing any escape, and in front of them, were the fishs' masters. The bleak reality was, that their little group were cornered and outmatched.

The fishmen slavers looked down on the women expectantly, until their leader opened his mouth again

"WELL? Get in the freaking tank, or do you want a _Please_ _Your Highness_?" he asked sarcastically, leaning over the railing of his boat while glaring down at the women, adressing the huge mermaid in particular.

"But.. You're fishmen!" Shirahoshi stammered, the stress and panic getting to her and bringing tears to her eyes.

"So?" the slaver captain barked impatiently "Reality is we gotta eat. And it ain't easy raiding any of those fat merchants, and why should we, when the Big Guns in these waters pay good money?"

An angry motion from the captain and one of his underlings, the one that wasn't the idiot (Tansui or something), who raised a horn to his mouth, blowing a series of tunes.

The Figthing Fish responded by tigthening the semicircle, pushing the group of women towards the slavers' boat.

the lesser the disatnce became the more the captains' smile broadened, no doubt at the prospect of the great prize that the women would fetch.

Viola could see it too, the smile of that monstrously obese pirate woman, as a trio of princesses fell in her lap, each one bringing a kingdom, not to mention the Kuja and Viola's own beloved niece Rebecca.

As the notes of the horn started to die down, after being bounced back between the mistobscured cliffs in the archiepelago, another sound made itself known; the crash and breaking of rocks.

And it was getting closer!

Looking at the other women, Viola could see they'd noticed too, turning their heads in this and that direction, trying to locate the source of the crashing.

Eventually the slavers turned around and looked behind them into the mist they had come from.

And as a storm of gravel erupted alongside a particularly large crash, it seemed they were right.

as the rocks and stones started to hit home on top of the group of women, VIola rushed to Rebeccas' side, to shield her niece as best she could.

But in her rush, she didn't manage to block a stone that hit her in the temple, making her world go black, all to the sound of her nieces' voice;

"Viola! VIOLA! **VIOLA!** "

* * *

( **On the Sunny** )

Nami looked across the waters, at the wind blowing up sprays of brine, at the clouds that spoke of misty weather somewhere in the distance, and even further away from the skies, the islands that Sanji described from his perv-vision.

Only time would tell if it was true, which part of Nami hoped it was, since it'd give them a lead on where to look for their friends.

Another part of her dearly hoped that Sanji hadn't develloped some kind of Super Observance haki that'd allow him to peek at her in the shower...

Shuddering at the thought, Nami rested her forehead against the wheel with a sigh.

When she raised her head again, She smiled as she saw Robin coming up the stairs to rejoin her at the bridge.

"Hey Robin, how are the other's doing?"

"Jinbe-san is resting in the workshop, talking with Franky and Usopp about what could be done to improve the Sunny..."

Nami smiled to herself, despite the situation "That fishman... He really needs to calm down a little don't you think?"

"Perhaps, so far the... spirited discussion those three were having hasn't turned heated, yet" Robin smiled mysteriously "Hopefully we won't have to scrape their remains off the walls anytime soon"

Nami cringed a little at the thought. She doubted that it'd turn that bad, even when the proud Franky was confronted with questions of how to improve his masterpiece. Usopp would problably alert them if things got serious, and he'd do it by running all over the ship in a panic. Not that it'd help him, If Jinbe got serious the entire surrounding sea would be involved, And then Nami wouldn't need to see Usopp to know something was wrong (she was smart enough to compare the patterns of weather and ocean currents and conclude that a tsunami hadn't anything too do with either).

"So... why did you come up here?" Nami tried to change the subject and adress the elephant in the room once more, she didn't feel their previous discussion had been concluded, and she doubted Robin thought otherwise.

Sighing, Robin rested against the railing, the wind tugging at her black mane.

"I thought about what you said... and I agree, to an extent at least" she said, tugging a stray lock of hair behind her ear "Sanji stepped out of line, even more so than Usopp did back in Water 7, but this time, an excuse and begging for forgiveness isn't enough, not really..." taking a deep breath for the next thing she was going to say, Nami took the opportunity to study her friend:

head bowed downwards, the wind filtering her hair and not giving it a care, eyes bathed in the shadow of **_the afternoon sun_** , the archaeologist looked like a cross between Brooke and a woman abbandoned (like from a cheesy romantic tragedy) Robin wasn't happy about the situation, and truth be told Nami understood that all too well, she'd rather be able to let it go, but she couldn't, not now atleast.

"But it's going to take a long time for Luffy's punishment to take hold..." Robin continued, folding her arms across her chest, before straigthening her back and looking directly at Nami "However, treating Sanji like... well; crap, like he can't do anything right, is going to be too cruel, not just to him, but yourself as well, so maybe, ease it up a little, that's all" the last part had been spoken with enough pleading that Nami would almost have shared money with Robin (and if she'd been a little homeless girl, it definetly would have worked).

Biting her lower lip, the navigator was forced to concede to her point with a lowered head.

a moment of silence followed between the two women, the wind and distant spalsh of brine being the only sound present.

Then Robin spoke "By the way... I found something in the library..."

Nami turned her head in confusion, before noticing the brochure that Robin was holding in her hands, she immediatly knew what was up, blushing slightly.

" _The Great Pirate Museum_ " Robin recited " _See the great legends vanquished by the marines..._ " She went on, her voice cracking a little as she skimmed the words, though the smile playing on her lips showed that it wasn't in anger.

" _You have a chance to meet'n'greet..._ " Robin continued

"OK! OK!" Nami squealed with a blush creeping across her cheeks "You got me, but in my defence, it was supposed to be a surprise for you guys"

Robin laughed, unable to contain the smile on her face, despite years of practice "You sure surprised me! I didn't even think something like this was possible! Does any of the others know about it yet?"

Nami doubled over, trying to contain her embarassed laughter "Nope!" she cackled "I want it to be a surprice remember!"

"Oh this is going to be good!" Robin smiled while looking at Nami who was trying to contain her laughter "When did you find out about this?"

Nami stiffled another laugh and smiled warmly "During our _separation period,_ Weatheria gets mail too, however sporadically, I thought it'd be a good idea for some of us; Luffy especially, then me, you, Brook and Franky too, and now Jinbe as well..." she paused smiling at the thought of her little idea "We could all use that..." Nami added, blinking the sting that had crept into her eyes, the very idea of going to the museum bringing back a thousand fond memories...

"You're right Nami" Robin admitted, her smile returning to its usual lopsidedness "But tell me, what's so funny about it?"

"Oh, that." Nami said, looking at the approaching isles with an anticipating smile "Just think about how they'll react to hearing about this, Luffy especially..."

"You're right, this'll be a high point on our trip"

"Yeah" Nami said, the stinging feeling returning to her eyes momentarily

"For everyone..."

* * *

( **The rocky archiepelago** )

Shirahoshi shivered in the water,

It wasn't from the cold of the water, she was used to that, this surface water was pretty warm compared to the frigid temperatures on the ocean floor, the mermaid princess trembled at the sight in front of her.

there hidden within a huge cloud of debris and mist, she could make out the outline of a ship, far larger than the slavers' boat that had cornered their small group before. Shirahoshi bit herslf in the lip at the thought of them, three fishmen, willingly engaging in slavery, and former members of the sun pirates no less!

 _If only Boss Jinbe-sama was here! or Luffy-sama..._

clenching a fist, Shirahoshi tried to steel her resolve, neither of her two idols would look well at her if they knew how frigthened she was right now! (Luffy would most definetly laugh and call her a crybaby!).

Shirahoshi was vaguely aware of some screams comming from the boat, but she could not bring herself to turn and investigate further, afterall, her friends depended on her! Or rather, her peers and equals depended on her, Shirahoshi had wanted to tell them all about what had happened on Fishman Island, but dared not, lest they were against Luffy-sama and the other -samas.

It all made her feel terribly alone, a feeling she wasn't much familiar with, even in captivity she'd at least had Megalo for company and frequent visits from her family and the castle staff.

All the Mermaid princess could do was stare in dread as the worst of the dust settled, though the larger ship was still shrouded, preventing her from seeing any detail of the mysterious newly arrived ship, or it's crew.

Said crew didn't have the same problem with her

" _OI! I told ya didn't I? WE'D FIND THAT MERMAID TODAY_!"

the roar was elevated, boisterous, triumphant, happy even, all to the rising dread of Shirahoshi.

"AND THE OTHER PRINCESSES AS WELL! PERFECT DAY EH?" the voice continued to whoop, in the wake of exclamation, Shirahoshi was faintly aware of the sound of more than one person laughing at the remark, not the fun-laugh, not the jolly-laugh either, it was the sort of laugh that one had when winning at the roulette, after having shot all the other players.

"Ther's another ship captain!" another voice called out, not as loud as the captains', but clear enough for everyone to hear.

Peering through the mist, Shirahoshi could begin to make out shapes, darker forms in the fog, a few forms appeared on the deck of the other ship, looking down on the slavers.

"Get lost!" the fishman captain bellowed angrily as he shook a fist above his head "WE GOT THEM FIRST!"

"Sure you did, and that was great work..." the other captain responded "and it gives me a great idea..."

Shirahoshi didn't need to see the man to know that he was smiling in a consipering way.

The only thing she could make out in the fog was a large figure (atleast Shirahoshi assumed it was large for a landdweller (in all fairness everyone is smaller than Shirahoshi)), two huge spikes protruiding from his shoulders and something comming out from the back of his head (Shirahoshi could only assume it was a horn of some sort), the whole appearance of the other captain made her shiver, in her mind it could only be some sort of vile demon from Hell!

"How'd you like to join my crew? Fishmen are strong, and we'd be even stronger together..."

the question hung loosly in the air, allowing the slaver captain Macro to consider it to its full potential.

"Mighty fine offer, but how bout we sell these off first and see how it goes?" While Shirahoshi couldn't see the fishmans' face, she was certain he was smiling.

Whomever the other captain was, weren't.

"Sell?" he said in a tone that was almost inaudible for Shirahoshi

"You said _sell_ , didn't you?" the captain continued, his voice turning from deep to highpitched, bordering on roaring.

Next to the horned captain a taller figure stepped forward and nodded his consent "Ay, I heard it too!"

Neither of the two sounded happy at this, a fact to which Macro was oblious

"Sure I said sell! We'll get rich of what Big Mom or one of the other big guns'll pay, more than enouggh for everyone!" he said, amrs wide, bragging about his future fortune.

"You guys are slavers!" the horned-spiked captain said with disgust, the railing his hand was on shattering into splinters with a loud crack.

Macro wasn't so presumptious that he wouldn't pick up on it, taking a step abck alongside his men and resuming a figthing stance "You don't like that? You better be ready to fight!"

The laughter that echoed from the other ship was nothing if not confident, the horned captain didn't need to say that he accepted the challenge, even if it was against fishmen, and their pets, the terrifying and ferocious Fighting Fish.

"ATTACK!" the order rang out from the newcommers "Crack 'em and take the dames! (other variants included: girls, babes and dolls)"

* * *

( **On the seas somewhere)**

Pudding paced around the spacious cabin, anxious about her situation.

She hadn't been able to call her family for days.

Her damn host just didn't seem willing to leave her alone!

The only reason she was alone now was because Pudding had declined to use the bath with her. A shiver ran down her spine at the thought. Pudding was naturally shy as it was, and bathing with the older woman was just to push her boundaries a bit too much.

Stussy had left pudding to her own devices but had also put her under guard.

Specifically, her butler Belliworth, old and grumpy (she'd heard him complain to his mistress more than once about the extravagant costs of some exhibit….?), but somehow the butler could sneak up on her like a cat. A two meter tall, hunchbacked, wrinkled, balding, white and grey-haired cat that sounded like Frankenstein's monster just before speaking, which was usually asking her if she wanted more tea and a biscuit. The look and the behaviour she could stomach, but when it came to his raspy stone-grinding-on-stone voice, Pudding was certain that it would take a lot more time getting used to.

Another thing that would take time to get used to was her hosts' manners

Looking around, Stussy's messiness never ceased to amaze her. The piles of clothing left over from just choosing a towel, stood in stark contrast to the woman's social behaviour, depicting a prim and proper woman, the very paragon of a lady.

But tables, the back of chairs, the dressing screen, and even the butler had been covered with a discarded towels, dresses, hats (and in one case a mannequin) in a hundred different colours, fabrics, patterns and styles (not sizes, which lead Pudding to believe that Stussy had some tailor hired to make all of her clothes a perfect fit for her under any circumstance).

And it didn't stop with clothes. Stacks of books and envelopes covered a round dark brown coffee table set before a spacious, peach coloured couch bedecked with soft pillows.

Out of sheer boredom and frustration, Pudding pick up one of the books titled, _Clues and Threads_ and started flipping through its pages.

Suddenly, Pudding stopped.

One of the pages had a file attached to it.

Opening the container, all she found was an old newspaper folded to reveal a small article:

" _False Strawhat Pirates apprehended by the Marines_ "

Pudding folded the newspaper to see the front page, which read a remarkably different tale " _The Strawhats have entered the New World_ "

That was by far more important than some little imposter crew, so why was it interesting for her host?

While Pudding pondered the small oddity, a door swung open, its' oiled hinges preventing it from making even the smallest creak.

Pudding didn't know anyone had entered the room until a faint, warm breeze hit her ear "What have you got there my dear?"

Pudding gave a small shriek and turned around, her eyes wide in shock and a shiver travelling up and down her spine like rollercoaster.

In front of Pudding, stood her host, Stussy, whom, aside from a faintly amused smile, wore nothing but a long scarlett bathing gown and a matching towel around her head. Naturally her make-up was gone and Pudding briefly thought _how does she look this good, being that old?_

There was still coming little whiffs of steam of the hand the older woman reached out towards Pudding.

"Give it here, I promise I won't be mad" she said in soothing words, her breath calm and even, her eyes even more tranquil, like two forest pools reflecting sunlight in the morning. Pudding concluded that it was brought on by the woman's recent bath, putting her at ease and lightening her spirits.

Handing the newspaper over, Pudding watched as Stussy looked down at it and neatly folded it back to the old page from before, giving it a scrutinizing look in the process.

"You're problably wondering why I'm saving this, aren't you? She said, while giving Pudding a little smile. Part conspiration and part secretive, her tone and mannerism beckoned Pudding to nod, the same way a cake would demand Big Mom's slobber.

"After the marines had captured them, they interrogated them, and they heard such interesting things…." Stussy trailed off, walking over to the book and putting the newspaper back into the envelope.

"…But how do you know about that?" Pudding gave her host an inquisitive look "it doesn't say that in a newspaper" _You know from an official report, don't you?_

"Many marines talk to my girls, and you'd be surprised, how much more they tell them than they write down for Marine Headquarters" Stussy said with a knowing smile, as she sat down on the couch, letting herself sink into soft pillows.

"Very interesting story, I must say…" she continued "Apparently, Demalo Black, the imposter Monkey D. Luffy, had been told that he could impersonate the little supernova at that exact date, and when he entered the New World he'd be rewarded handsomely, in addition to all the spoils his little cohorts could gather for him"

Pudding gave her host yet another puzzled look "But who told him? And why that exact date?"

"They didn't know really…." Stussy said with a small pout "Stupid men, never knowing all of the story before rushing off to be foolish, thinking everything'll be allright in the end" the last comment had been made with a frown coming over her face and a bitterness etching into the corners of her voice, and Pudding could briefly see past the regular appearance of the _Queen of the Pleasure Quarter_ and glimpse the womans' true age. Despite normally looking youthful, perhaps in her twenties, Stussys' face briefly showed both crowsfeet and wrinkles, not to mention a tired gleam in her eyes, the result of many memories flooding in and taking charge, but, unlike Pudding's own _Mama_ , it did nothing to make her unattractive. It actually gave her a distinct patina and experience that Pudding couldn't help herself gravitate towards.

It almost felt like being with an unmarried aunt (Pudding assumed that it was like that at least, never even having met her father and certainly not anyone on his side of the family).

"….But since they didn't know, neither could I!" Stussy continued, her youthful appearance restored in an instant, her frown disappearing into a disappointed pout as the woman ignored her own previous comment, as if it had never happened.

"But….why would that be interesting for you?" Pudding asked after a brief silence, wanting her host to continue the tale.

"Knowledge, and sharing it, is also a part of pleasure my dear, and I've been the queen of that subject for... some _time_ " she gave Pudding at smile, which eventually turned into a laugh as the young woman began to blush at the implications, not just the obvious lewdness, but also at her own lack of forethought. Stussy was rumoured to be in league with the CP, and Pudding couldn't afford to underestimate her by letting her own guard down.

"But, whomever it was that gave the instructions, is quite smart, figuring out when the Strawhats would return, and planned accordingly…." Stussy continued, beckoning Pudding to join her on the couch.

Obeying the silent command, Pudding sat down, near enough to listen, but not so close as if they were friends.

"How'd they know when the Strawhats returned?"

Picking up the ledger again, Stussy pulled out another envelope, which contained another newspaper, this one showing the front page.

"What do you see on Strawhats' arm dear?"

Pudding looked at the newspaper, the frontpage being dominated by a picture of Strawhat from two years ago, when the Battle of Marineford had ended, and the little upstart had rung the oxbell.

"Bandages and wounds?" Pudding tried, not certain what her host had in mind

"There's letters on his arm" Stussy said, her voice pleasant and even, indicating with a finger where it was Pudding should've looked "the **3D** is scratched over, instead saying **2Y** " she explained "It was a message to his crew that they'd meet up in 2 years, not 3 days"

Pudding looked at her host, visibly impressed

"But you don't…."

"Know who did it?" Stussy finished for her "No. All I know for certain is that it's someone who is protecting the Strawhats for some reason"

Pudding blinked "How'd you?" (at this point Pudding knew better than to bother finishing her sentences)

"If they're smart enough to figure out when the Strawhats would come back, but choose to send some second-rate backwater pirate crew to Sabaody, then it's clearly a smokescreen, or rather an advert: _here we are come get us,_ and it worked perfectly! An army of marines dealing with a, larger than normal, horde of pirates, it is a quite decent cover-up" Stussy finished, and, despite her reluctance, Pudding was impressed. Not just at whomever the Strawhats mysterious benefactor was capable of, but her host as well, all those little threads that could be combined seemingly out of nowhere…..

"but do you have any ideas?" Pudding said after a while

"As to whom it could be?" Stussy said as she waved her hand in front of her face as she looked down at the messy coffee table "Oh, Plenty! So many infact, that it devolves into singling out who it couldn't be" Stussy sighed and let her robed body sink a little further down into the pillows, making her resemble a sulking teenager rather than a young proud woman.

Turning her head towards Pudding, Stussy's smile returned "But that makes it all the more fun, doesn't it?"

Leaning forward and standing up in one swift motion, the towel fell from her hair and left her blonde locks a near tangled mess "I think I'll have a word with my hairdresser, I really can't walk around like this can I now?" She said while pointing to her hedgerow hair with a smile.

Pudding couldn't help but put a hand over her mouth to stifle a giggle.

While she started to leave, Stussy spoke to udding again "oh, you simply must accompany me, 9999 would do wonders with your locks!"

"B-but I... mama" Pudding began in surprice Mama'd be angry (not outhright kill) with her if she changed something about herself wothout permission.

"Oh it'd be fine" Stussy reassuered her while pulling the younger womman to her feet "Linlin will approve once she sees you, I'm certain of it!"

seeing Pudding's reluctance, she added "We won't change too much, I promise" getting behind Pudding, Stussy began to push her gently (yet somehow firmly) towards the door.

Pudding caved at that, afterall, she had to placate her host's sudden irrational whims.

Doing so would likely yield more secrets that the Queen of the Pleasure quarter was privy to...

In order to succeed in her mission as spy, Pudding had to comply...

(besides she was curious about that haircut...)

* * *

 **(In the rocky archiepelago)**

The first to attack was the horned captain, seizing something on his ship and throwing it down at the fishmen, whom dodged the large barrel, letting it crash into the deck in a shock of splinters and the wie that had been within.

A moment later, another of the newcomers made a move leaping down on the other ships' deck, attacking, not the pirates, like his captain, but the ship itself. A kick from the pirate was enough to shake the vessel, sending up waves on the seas' surface and making another gust of sea spray and brine explode into the air, masking the two ships in a deeper cover of fog than before.

Shirahoshi could only watch from without it, seeing the silhouette of two others jumped down on the deck of the Slavers' ship, weapons drawn as the men charged at the fishmen, howling with glee.

The former Sun pirates took the assault head one, two of them engaging the boarders, with the last of the fishmen raising something to his mouth (looked a little like a conch), a moment later, three short deep notes went through the air, bouncing off the cliffs and through the crannies of the archipelago.

Almost instantly, the fighting fish broke their formation, the huge bull fish, took the lead, jumping upwards towards both of the ships, mouth split in a victorious, fanged grin.

The mermaid princess was stricken with fear, her usual timidity being only being amplified by the presence of, not only Pirates, but slavers and ferocious, giant, unfamiliar fish.

She almost didn't feel the tap at the back of her head. She did feel the next one as a crate grazed her shoulder from behind, the sudden feeling sending another shiver down her spine, causing her to cringe and almost scream in shock.

Turning towards the boat she had been pulling, Shirahoshi could hear a reassuring voice

"Shirahoshi-san, please" the huge princesss took heart to see that it was only the alabastan Princess Vivi-sama, standing in the stern of the boat while holding a hand to her mouth as if she was trying to whisper (which really wasn't easy given the circumstances, a fight going on and Shirahoshi being more than a few meters away from the small boat)

"This is our chance!" she urged, her eyes wide and pleading

"while they're fighting, we can get away! We might even get to hide and recover!"

Looking at the women in the boat, Shirahoshi could see what she meant, Viola-sama was out cold, both shirahoshi's fellow pinkette ( _Rebecca-sama_ ) and the Blonde Kuja ( _Marguerite-sama_ )being next to her, trying to fan the Dressrosan princess back to consciousness. The other Kuja had was eyeing the battle intensely, watching for any new development.

Taking a quick glance at the fighting on the ships: it was a chaos of angry shouts in the mist, though she could occasionally see a bod be carried off by one of the fighting fish into the depths below. Blood followed a moment later from the deeps.

Then one of the Fighting fish jumped out of the water and into the mist, seemingly intent to devour one of the combatants. Shirahoshi was barely able to recognise the horned captain on his shoulder spikes, before he struck.

With a blast like a cannon, the black scaled fish flew out of the mist like a rocket and slammed into the cliffs at the opposite end of the lagoon, landing in the water where it went belly up as part of the cliff collapsed on top of it.

The only response from the combatants, was a loud laughter "Bokusususususu!" as the captain of the newcomers turned to engage his next opponent.

Pulling hard at the rope she held, Shirahoshi made for the way she had come in as swiftly as possible, finding her strength in both fear and a dear hope that she'd never get to see the horrible slavers or the ferocious horned captain again.

Leaving the lagoon behind them, the women attempted to escape into the maze of waterways of the archipelago.

* * *

( **amongst the Germa** )

Not for the first time, their host, Vinsmoke Judge proudly showed Cobra and the other monarchs the military might of his kingdom, although it had obviously seen better days (which the Vinsmoke repeatedly blamed on (bravely and selfishly) fighting the forces of the Yonko Big Mom).

Cobra found it dreadfully boring, but it took his and his colleagues minds off of their missing daughters (and granddaughter (although thinking of the women that had also disappeared, Cobra lecherously didn't know if that was a bad thing)) so it was good for something atleast.

Looking at his colleagues, Cobra noted that while both the humongous king Neptune and the older (and to Cobra's envy more fit and decidedly more healthy) King Riku shared his opinion (at least on the subject being so horribly boring) their seconds, the bulky Tank Lepanto and his own bodyguard Pell took extensive mental notes of every movement either Judge of his (eerily) similar guards made.

Cobra was at half a mind to share his retainers suspicions about Judge, but his daughters safety came first, for her he was more than willing to accept any help he could get, from a country with a dread reputation to a demon of hell!

He was almost willing to accept the aid of the Shichibukai at this point, even after his experiences with _Crocodile!_

Then he felt it!

The cribbly feeling of a cough, sneaking its way up his chest and throat and out his mouth.

The force of it exploded out his mouth like a trumpet, surprising his companions with its suddenness.

Pell was at his side a moment later, kneeling like a henmother over its chick. _Gods He loved that mans' loyalty at times! What did he ever do to deserve that sort of commitment and care?_

"If You desire, King Cobra" Judge began, his tone calm and slow, in stark contrast to his boasting a mere moment before "We can leave you on an island with some of my personal doctors while we find your daughter"

The sentence was phrased as both an offer and a question, with just enough pity in it to make Judge sound sincere, although Cobra couldn't judge that, his coughing was hurting his throat and his eyes sting with small bitter tears.

"With your permission , your highness I'd like to offer my council on that" Pell said, his voice even, but his face could be mistaken for a monolith

Judge merely waved a hand, showing both his disregard for Pell and that the permission was granted

"My king is currently under the weather and it would be unwise to respond to your offer at the moment, at least until he is feeling a little better" Pell bowed before Judge, gaining the silent approval of the other two kings.

But as Cobra noted inbetween his coughs, Pell also gained their esteemed hosts displeasure

"Understandable" Judge said, voice even, but his annoyance showed at the corners of his mouth "If you should change your mind, be ssure to inform me soon, I intend to increase the pace and too much stress of the search might not be good for your constitution, king of Alabasta" Pausing momentarily, allowing Cobra's cough to receede and get better "If you're worried about not being there when we find your daughter, I'd be more than happy to let one of my own sons accompany you while your... bodyguard tags along" although Judge smiled, Cobra could almost sense his scheeming, but he didn't have the strenght to argue the point at the moment.

"I'll accept a quick checkup at those doctors of yours for the time being Judge-dono" Cobra looked at the ground as he spoke before fixing his eyes at Judge "Then I promise you that I'll respond to your _generous_ offer"

Judge couldn't hide his glee at this response (no doubt already planning to tell his doctors to pressure Cobra into thinking he was more sick than he was) but his joy was shortlived.

Suddenly, one of Judge's numerous soldiers came running, and even when hidden beneath the inhuman gasmask, Cobra could see the _mans_ ' nervousness, his fear.

Judge wasn't as perceptive when he turned to the soldier, expecting a salute as his attention turned to the soldier.

He didn't get it

instead

what he got was bad news.

"Your highness, general, there has been a distress message from the nearby Island"

"So what?" Judge responded with a shrug "Niji is there, he's more than capable of dealing with some minor disturbance" the last part was as much directed at the soldier as it was to brag about his second son in front of the other kings.

"But..." the soldier began to stammer, and despite the glare his king sent him for interrupting HIS narcicistic bragging "... it's Prince Niji's group that is sending the distress call your Highness... General"

for the briefest of seconds, Judge stood immobile and silence reigned supreme over the group of kings

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!" Judge howled in shock, his lowerjaw sinking so low that the Germa kings body coul've looked like a peculiar statue, especially with the grey teint his skin had adopted.

"HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN?" the Garuda continued, leaving the smaller soldier to cower at his furious response "WHAT DID NIJI SAY?"

"Well, the caller is actually King ELizabello II..." the soldier began, before another of Judge's children interrupted, the red haired one this time

"What woudl that brute do with our equipment? What happened to Niji?"

"According to king Elizabello, commander Prince Niji was... beaten to a pulp..." the soldier rapidy responded, following up his answer with another "the King didn't say what had happened, just that it was the way he found commander Prince Niji, and that were blood everywhere"

the news weren't taken well by the Vinsmokes, or their army.

swift rush of people and orders followed, Judge being mainly concerned with securing his injured son and finding the culprit, only giving the other kings the minimum of attention during the crisis, leaving them to their own devices.

An opportunity which Pell used to get Cobra to the doctor ahead of Niji's return, since most of the medical attention was bound to go to him at arrival.

Cobra wasn't too happy about going about it that way, but his health had deteriorated over tha last few months and despite his reluctance he was willing to act a little selfish.

HIs sickness was getting worse, there was no denying it, and being out searching for his daughter wasn't dooing anything too help with his condition,

but he had to be out with the search parties, he wanted desparately to see Vivi one last time before he died,

even if it was for the briefest of moments.

* * *

 **(on Runny Rum Archiepelago)**

Galette looked at Amande as if she'd grown three heads with a mohawk, an afro and a hime haircut, all of which were attacking would have made more sense if she was still drunk from the night before, but her elder sisters' proclamation had ended any and all symptoms of anyhting that eve remotely resembled intoxication or a hangover.

"You did what?" she said, not for the first time since she woke up, which seemingly was somewhere in the afternoon.

Sighing, the third daughter of the Charlotte family looked down at her (about 14'th) younger sister, while slowly smoking her 34'th cigarette that day

"I called Mama to see if we should get reassigned"

"WHY?" her words were slow, trembling with panic and threatening to crack, but Galette didn't care that it made her appear like a whiny little brat, she just wanted answers.

"Because I'm tired of this! Flirting with small time captains all day and night might bring Mama more power, but we also need to consolidate our home territories" Amande stressed the last few words, hoping Galette would see some reason

"Big sis..." The redhead began slowly "...you want to stop our working vacation because you're homesick?"

"I'll admit it's part of the reason..." Amande blinked beneath her huge sun hat, looking down at her younger sibling in her bed and ruffled clothes "But it's alsp because of you"

"Me?"

"Yes, all of this partying and drinking isn't good for you in the long run, I nearly lost you when you were out on the dancefloor lastnight and in this town it could prove lethal, what if you got caught?"

"By the marines? those justice pushers don't have what it takes to capture me!"

"Wheen you're durnk they might. besides I'm not just talking about marines, there is alot of young spirited men on this island right now, and they're all used to taking what they want!" She left the implications hang in the air, leaving Galette to shiver at the very idea.

Amande wasn't happy about reminding her little sister about her previous marriage, but she had to reason with her somehow. But seeing Galette holding onto her knees and begin to rock a little back and forth was taking thing stoo far, way too far.

Embracing the smaller woman in a gently hug, Amande's voice turned soothing "There there... I'm sorry I mentioned it, but you need to see the danger you could be putting yourself in"

afrer a while the tremblings subsided and GAlette managed to stammer something

"Huh? what did you say Galette?" Amande released her sister to look her in the eyes

"Wha-what did Smoothie say?"

"She wanted to consult Mama on the matter... she'd call back"

"Has she?"

Amande grew silent and looked down at the floor

"Big Sister?" Galette said in a voice that was both awaiting an accusing

"Mama responded about an hour ago... we're to ignore the marines and stay put, Mama is sending Brownie with some reinforcements, just incase things get hairy" Amande puffed at her cigarette, clearly not happy about the situation.

"What reinforcements?"

"None of our brothers, so we still have control of the situation..." Amande began

"Why does it sound like you're trying to butter me up?" fixing her sibling with a serious glare Galette continued "Who is the reinforcements?"

"Durum, Kabo and Dacquise" Amande responded rapidly, knowing her sister would not be happy about most of them.

for a moment Galette was silent, when she spoke her voice had hints of ice, poison and something flamable "a humongous idiot, a homie... and perhaps the more sexistic man in the crew... that's what's coming?"

"Well... technically speaking Kato is a special homie made from one of the worlds best swordsmen, at the time... and Dacquise is only a creep around..."

"Me and Poire" Galette finished for her, the gingers' face showing full well her attitude towards that particular mans' attention. Taking a deep breath, an eyebrow still twitching at the news, the eighteenth daughter of Big Mom tried to controll herself for the natural followup:

"When do they arrive?"

"Brownie will arrive tomorrow morning" Amande looked at the smaller woman infront of her, noting that her eyes were already searching for the minibar "So no drinking tonight" she added with a lifted finger, hoping that her words would sink in "... and just to be on the safe side, we're not visiting Hannibals either, can't harm to be a bit discreet"

Galette gave her sister yet another hard and defiant glare "What are we then going to do? Partying and having nice dinners are the best chances at meeting potential brother-in-laws on this island"

"There's always the museum, that's where the better pirate captains go, I recall that the wing dedicated to that smuggler was quite interesting"

"That fruit stand guy? I guess, guy sure had some impressive feats to him... but not much we could use since the marines censored most of his journal"

Amande smiled at this and held up a flyer "they've just unveiled the original version"

"Oh! Well that might be interesting" Galette admitted, her interst piqued slightly.

"Glad to hear it, shall we get going?" Amande rose up and corrected the position of her hat.

"But perhaps you should get some food first Galette, you've slept most it away already"

leaving her sibling, Amande strode out onto the balcony, taking in the view, while taking a deep puff on her cigarette

"hopefully..." she said to herself "This whole thing'll be over soon"

* * *

(on the seas

The small island didn't look like much, infact it didn't look like anything other than a few dunes of sand, some foliage and a little thrash here and there, but that might just be flotsam.

In short, the island had absolutely nothing to offer anyone, except perhaps Sanji, who was sniffing around the beach like a bloodhound.

The rest of the crew had also left the sunny, except for Franky who didin't see the need to leave his dear Sunny alone and Usopp who was having a bad feeling about the Island (even though it didn't look that scary at all).

Nami took a look at the beach,but all she could see that was remotely out of place was the flotsam, and some strange marking in the sand, as if someone had sat there, not to mention a deep gouge in the beach where a boat might've been pulled up. Both Luffy and Jinbe were checking out the nearby flotsam, which consisted of small, relatively intact crates and discarded cans (though the captain seemed far more interested in searching for any leftover meat than in searching for clues)

"What do you make of this Jinbe-chan?"

"All of these crates have had foodstuffs in them, and the tracks definitely belongs to six individuals, all with different weights, one of which is so large that it definitely could belong to Princess Shirahoshi"

"WHEERE?!" Sanji howled from the other end of the island kicking up a sand cloud as he sprinted towards their location. If Zoro hadn't stopped the chef with a Lariat, he might have erased all of the clues that remained.

"Why'd you do that you stinking Marimo?"

"You're hysterical, ya shitty chef!"

And their usual fight was on, all thoughts of the missing princesses banished from their minds. Robin getting in between the pair was all that prevented them from coming to blows.

Meanwhile, sniffing around the crates, Chopper nodded his head enthusiastically "They've definitely been here, I can recognise Shirahoshis' scent, and Vivi's, and a bunch of others"

"Heeeey Sanji was right! Great! WE'll find them in no time!"

"Luffy, it's not that simple, we have to have a setting, an idea of where they've gone!" Nami said, directed at her over ecstatic captain, and the amorous chef.

"Doesn't that mean….." Sanji began, tongue rolling out of his mouth like a dogs, eyes turning into pumping hearts "…..that I'll have to guide Nami-schwann to all of the Princess-chans and Kuja-chans?"

The very idea was making the chef glow red with amorous energies.

The very sight was making Zoro nauseous and Nami annoyed, while Luffy tried to fry a scrap of meat on the heat coming off him (he stopped almost immediately as the morsel caught fire and he decided to gobble the charred scrap instead).

"We might be able to predict where they've gone if we think logically"

"Or..." Nami began, mentally chasstising herself for what she was about to say "...We follow up on Sanji's previous _vision_ and go where he and Luffy sensed something last time"

Nodding his acceptance, Jinbe ushered the others back on the ship.

Nami smiled as she returned herself.

They had a lead and their friends would soon be safe in their hands.

* * *

( **Outside of the Rocky archepelago** )

Rebecca looked back at the place they'd just left, the crash of the waves being the most dominant sound at the moment.

The Viola woman was still out cold, and would remain so for a while if Marguerite were to guess.

The merwoman that pulled their small craft was doing so with an unforeseen vigour, in truth it was impressive, towing the boat behind her and picking up speed rapidly. If they had been back on _Amazon Lily_ the pink haired princess would have been considered almost as beautiful as her very own empress Boa Hancock, Marguerite was sure of it!

But right now there were more important matters to attend to,

1\. they'd almost been caught by some strange _men_ , which Shirahoshi had identified as fishmen, but not elaborated much on (perhaps there was a race of people consisting exclusively of men?)

2\. They'd almost been captured by some other men, whom they didn't know who were or where they came from.

3\. One of rthem had gotten injured and the other women on the boat were fuzzing over her like she was a littel baby (compared to the mermaid princess, the one from Dressrosa wouldn't be considered as beautiful as many most of the Kuja Pirates)

when suddenly a distant crash rang out from within the Archiepelago, Marguerite turned around and looked at the huge cliffs, even as they grew smaller in the distance.

what didn't grow smaller were the huge piieces of rock and stone the flew in all directions from within the maze of water and cliffs.

a few fell into the water aournd them, posing no threat to their small boat.

But that wasn't the problem.

The problem was that it had managed to reach this far!

At least a mile had been put between the women in the boat and the Rocky archipelago where they'd left those would be captors!

Since the fishmen hadn't broken down rocks on their arrival it left only one option as to whom were the source of the destruction and odd weather phenomenon.

Hopefully neither of the two sides had tired of the battel just yet, Marguerite really didn't fancy facing either, a bunch of animal men and their ppets or a group that could take them out during a short skirmish.

Looking at her Kuja comrade, Marguerite noted that Rindo had a grim look on her normally stoic face. It scared Marguerite more than it should.

this whole situation was horrible, it was like when she'd found Luffy-san back home along Sweet Pea and Aphelandra and tey all had to stand trial before her Highness.

If only she had her bow-snake things would've been different, same if Rindo had her Bazooka.

But either had been lost or left behind at that odd castle that Elder Nyon had been sent to by the Empress.

All the two pirates had were a group of princesses that didn't look like they knew much about fighting, and a boat with far less food than before (being they only projectile they'd had against the fish, naturally they'd used them).

Looking at Rindo again, Marguerite saw that the senior Kuja had made her way to join the other in the back of their small vessel.

"Seeing anything?"

"No, I don't" MArguerite didn't get it, Rindo was smart enough to see that there wasn't much to see other than the obvious: water, cliffs and rainig stones.

"hmmhmm" Rindo continued, her voice dropping to nearly a whisper "We might have to be ready for another confrontation"

"You think they'll catch onto us that fast?"

"No, not yet I don't... not with the speed that the mermaid is putting on..." Rindo's answer waas accompanied by a finger to the lips, showing that Marguerite should be more quiet when she was speaking, and a suspicious leer directed at the other women in the boat as they tried to make it as comfortable for the stricken Viola as posssible.

"Sooooo..." the blonde continued, unsure of what was going on, but obeying the call for subtlety

"While me and the blue one were on that ship, _stealing_ supplies... We heard something"

"What?" Marguerite's voice had droopped so low it could be drowned out by the sound of the waves against the boat, rocking it from side to side as it was pulled faster and faster away from the archiepelago.

"There's some big shot pirate in these waters, and he seemingly knows some of us, here on this boat!"

The blonde Kuja nearly slapped a hand over her mouth as she contemplated the words, her eyes growing wider as all the different ideas, plots and implications dawned to her.

"But you don't know who it is? It migth be L..." A serious glare from Rindo made Marguerite stop talking immediatly

"No we don't know who it is... only that the person knows some of the women on this ship, we don't know if it's an enemy or a friend of them either..."

the silence that followed between the two kuja was a tense one, but none of the other women on the boat noticed, too focussed on nursing and pulling respectively.

"But if it's friend..." the dark haired kuja continued "we don't know if it counts' for all of us"

Marguerite didn't need help understanding what she meant if we're caught we could die unless...

"If need be..." Rindo whispered again, this time through grited teeth "...get a hostage! it's our best chance of survival!"

"But... What about the others? won't they be in danger too?"

"We're already in danger Marguerite, all of us! If we don't do this if the situation calls for it, then everyone else is in danger too!" Rindo spoke in the whisper like equivalent of shouting, when you're not not in doubt of what's being said, as long as you stand within armslength of the speaker, outside of that, nothing could've been heard, keeping their conversation private.

"The words were phrased as if the Pirate knew multible of us, so my guess is that it's the Dressrosa Princess and her handmaiden"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, the one who said it used the term _princesses_ and those are the only ones that arrived here as a group"

"But are you sure Rindo? Only one fo them has that title"

"Yes I'm sure, they're far too close for them not to be family! If anything happens, go for the stricken one, she's more vulnerable, the other one has Haki, I'm sure of it"

With that Rindo left Marguerite, to try and make some more room on the boat, and look at the compass that had been amongst the crates, setting somehting that resmebled a course.

Marguerite took a quick look at the other women, not reallly wanting to do something against the others, even if Rindo said so.

The others had been quite nice to her as far as Marguerite was concerned, but the possiblity that they'd turn enemies, she had to consider the worst case scenario, which involved betrayal against the other women on the boat, even if some of them would benefit from it in the long run.

Swallowing hardly, Marguerite tried to stem the rising bile in her throat, her fear making her feel sick and worried that she might have to doo something she'd regret.

hopefully that wouldn't come too soon.

she hoped it'd never come at all!

* * *

And that's it for the seventh chapter

(and it took a long bloody while to finish!)

with this the fic has passed the 50.000 word mark (there's going to be far more in the future).

they're getting closer

I'd like to thank the new readers the have decided to follow this fic and hope that you'll find the next chapters to you liking.

Active threads this tiem around:

 **Strawhats:** could finally confirm that Sanji's perv-voyancy is reliable! And has picked up the pace at finding their friends.

 **The Big Mom Pirates:** Pudding mingles and Galette is not pleased with Amande's actions.

 **the Missing Princesses:** escape by the skin of their teeth. Also a little scheeming amongst the dames.

 **The Marines** : (or rather **th CP0** ) Stussy shows just how much she works and with what; the hidden agendas of an as of yet unidentified party taht hastheir eyes on the Strawhat Pirates.

 **the Royals** : (some of them) picked a fight they definetly couldn't win and Cobra's condition is getting worse.

 **Princess hunters/assorted Pirates:** the Macro Pirates shows up with new pets and are immediatly challenged by a crew that has been active since back in chapter 1 (they will return).

RnR if you'd be so kind.


	8. Chapter 8: Closing in

**Blood ties like Iron Binds: Chapter 8**

 **Closing in**

* * *

( **One of the Germa Flagships, Niji's Castle** ) **.**

Cobra had been right.

As soon as the defeated (a word that no one of the Vinsmokes had dared use after seeing the face of King Judge as the thought of his second son losing at anything began to creep into his head) Germa prince Niji (numbering ones children seemed more like a sign of bad parenting to Cobra than a sign of affection), had arrived on the seagoing giant snail-powered castle, all possible medical attention had gone straight to his recovery.

Fortunately, by the time he (and his party) did actually arrive, Pell and Cobra had already seen the doctor of the royal family.

The King of Alabasta had expected the news as soon as he'd seen the doctors report and notes about his condition, so right now he was more interested in hearing what had happened to the small foraging party that had gone ashore.

Almost immediately after they'd received the news, the germa 66 had been mobilized and surrounded the little island, making it look like they were about to start a full blown Bustercall on the little town at it's shore.

Naturally the towns inhabitants had panicked, and it was thus nearly impossible to gain any witness statements from any of the civilians that had been taken for questioning.

To Cobra it all seemed at tad too excessive, bullying a tiny community like that and then not provide any reason at all.

But there was no way he could command the frantic Judge to stop his tyrannical behaviour, he depended on him too much for tracking down his daughter for that to happen, the same went for the other kings. He could see their displeasure and disdain for Judge's methods and Judge himself by extension.

Fortunately, they had the King of Prodence, Elizabello II to tell them part of what had happened, and the very flustered head chef Cosette.

And Cobra looked very much forward to hear their tales, anything that could take him mind of his disease or the anxiety of not knowing where his daughter were was worth the hassle.

* * *

 **(Aboard the Sunny)**

Nami took in the sight before her with a sense of wanting to slap everyone in sight, including herself for suggesting what had led up to this point.

Sanji sat on the bridge, the wheel in his hand all the while Usopp, Luffy, Broook and Franky tried to make him concentrate on the missing princesses, which in Sanji's case was complete and utterly redundant.

Usopp continued to show him graffiti of the women, Brook held up a newspaper where their pictures were shown (in the most flattering way possible) and Franky kept urging him to think of those he'd met.

But Somehow Luffy was the most idiotic. Not being aware of what it was Sanji liked about any of the women (the answer is everything) heød just started talking about what the women of Amazon Lily wore normally, and their food and their fighting style (all of which made Sanji's heart pound like a hundred drums (at one point Chopper thought it was somekind of new way to call for dinner instead of a bell (subsequently the Reindeer had tried to make the Chef follow his Doctors' orders, but to no avail, he was too far gone in visions of bikinis and small skirts, and what the other women would look like wearing the same outfits))).

Robin toppled it however when she showed Sanji her drawings of what it was Luffy was describing, streamlining the chefs' imagination as if adjusting a showerhead to give one hard stream of water.

When the rest of the crew held up both ewspaper pictures and drawings, the amorous chef's head began to turn in almost every direction at once, though it mainly focussed on Robin holding up a sketch of Shirahoshi in a kuja attire (even with the little skirt and a snake for company and armament).

This wouldn't have been so bad if only Sanji didn't steerd the ship in the direction of his attention, which was placed on the ship, meaning that he'd more than occasionally make the ship sail in loops indefinitely, until something else caught his attention (which didn't happen, a real Robin and sketch Shirahoshi was too much of a treat for him too ever let that happen (not to mention the idea of Seeing the pirate empress in a similar outfit)).

When Jinbe finally managed to wring the wheel from the zombie-minded chef, so that he could steer again, Nami wasn't certain that even she knew how far off course they were.

Sighing deeply, Nami quelled her urge to slap the dunderheads (Robin excluded) silly, instead she turned to Jinbe

"So how long do you think it's take to get back on track?"

"winds are decent so it depends on the waves I think, if we'd use the coup de burst we'll make up for lost time rapidly"

"We can't overuse it!"

Both turned to Franky, the shipwright in the act of combing his hair into a pair of twin pompadours, but his face very serious "If we overuse it, the mechanism might be damaged!"

Jinbe scratched his chin at this "true, relying on that trick too much might also damage our strategic and tactical possibilities later on, the wordst thing that could happen was if our enemies foresaw us using it"

"Right! And we don't have endless supplies of Cola, I need that for all my other machines!"

Finishing with his haircut (leaving it in the shape of a pair of fish tails with a large mermaid on the other end ), Franky smiled as he adjusted his sunglasses "Besides…. If people get used to it…. It won't be as _super_ cool anymore!" finishing his argument with his trademark pose, leaving Nami stunned at his priorities and Jinbe laughing heartily.

As he wiped a tear from the corner of his eye Jinbe looked at Franky again "Well, ( _wahahaha)_ jokes aside…."

"I'm not joking" Franky responded, still in his pose "Too much and it ain't cool anymore, gotta be super economic with it!"

At this Jinbe had joined Nami in looking dumbfound at the shipwright, not certain what to do

"Will it get us to the action faster?"

All looked at Luffy, his hands at his sides, looking like he had just heard of a room full of meat and had been told that he could go through the wall to get it faster.

"Yes!" Nami said, a moment before Jinbe repeated it, same with Franky (albeit reluctantly).

"Great, let's do it!" Luffy raised his arms in rapt anticipation before he turned around and headed for his regular spot on the fighurehead, sharply followed by a nervous Franky.

"Please, Luffy, if we _burst_ too much, it won't be as cool if we need it in combat!" the cyborg pleaded, but to no avail

"We're going on adventure! That's cool too! Load up the cola and we'll be off!"

Franky bowed his head, not willing to go against his captain but not being happy with it either.

Nami smiled as Jinbe prepared himself for the burst, all the while the rest of the crew either went inside or getting a firm grip on either ropes or the railing. Naturally, Usopp tied himself to the mast with chains and started praying to land safely (or if that didn't work, that his chains wouldn't snap or harm him upon hitting the water).

Nami sat down in front of the wheel, looking straight ahead into the horizon ahead of the Sunny (although it was a bit obstructed by her captains' Strawhat). Down on the main deck, Franky was loading barrels of cola into the tank of the cannon, sounding like he was about to complain about using all his precious fuel just for sailing, but an undertone to his voice told that he was also secretly excited to just use his and Iceburgs invention (but also that he wanted to make serious improvements in the future). _Longer distance wouldn't be a bad idea_ Nami thought, _or perhaps less cola consumption_ , but that really was way less important than getting away or moving forward. But right now, improvements took a secondary position to their mission:

Saving their friends.

And Nami looked forwards to it.

Perhaps Luffy's crazed greed for adventure was rubbing of on her.

Momentarily she thought that it'd be horrible if he mirrored some of her greed, demanding payment each time he saved her or listened to her for that reason…. The idea sent a shiver down her spine, if that ever happened, she'd be bankrupt within a week!

Fortunately, the big lug would never learn from example from one of his crew, that much was certain, and deep down, Nami was extremely thankful for that.

Naturally, she'd be more thankful when they'd reached their frineds.

It had been years since she'd seen Vivi and she'd have to remind Luffy and the crew that they'd have to show Shirahoshi a real surface forest with all different sorts of trees and birds and animals and she'd have Sanji introduce her to this Viola woman and make sure that the handmaid didn't feel left out of any of the fun they were going to have…..

The two she was a little lukewarm about meeting was those Kuja. She'd have enough experience with Shichibukai to steer clear of their underlings as well of their masters. But Luffy didn't speak ill of the Pirate empress so she assumed that her subordinates wouldn't be too bad to meet.

But first they'd have to find them.

But as the C _oup De Burst_ was fired and the Sunny leapt into the air as a dolphin, Nami firmly believed that they'd find them soon.

* * *

( **Somewhere on the sea** )

Vivi yawned, it had been a long day already, and running from the fishman pirates and that other crew hadn't been the most relaxing experience.

Not that it had been particularly hard for her personally (when she'd sailed with the Strawhats that sort of thing was practically a Tuesday morning) at least not physically.

It was harder for Shirahoshi, being the only one that could pull the boat with all of them, plus whatever food they had left. And the huge mermaid had really pulled hard at the boat since they met those pirates and would-be-slavers, being all too terrified of them, which Vivi could understand, but it was especially hard for her as it was part of her own kingdom, her own countrymen that posed the threat to her, to them. Because of her own experiences with the civil war (courtesy of Crocodile), Vivi could relate.

Looking at her Dressrosan counterpart, Vivi could regrettably state that Viola hadn't woken up yet, her head resting on the pink haired handmaiden Rebecca's lap. Occasionally the younger woman would stroke her mistress hair, like an elderly woman petting a cat, not knowing what else to do.

Rindo was going through their food stocks, taking mental notes as to how much food they had (having lost some trying to fend of the fighting fish they didn't have food for several days, six people (one of whom was far larger than the others) could eat a large amount of food surprisingly fast).

Marguerite wasn't doing much except look at the group with something approaching sadness. Vivi didn't know why, but she felt it had something to do with what had happened today, but there was no way to be certain. Not yet.

She guessed she could talk to her about it at some point, perhaps when Viola was conscious, and they were less stressed.

Vivi's eyes lit up momentarily, she'd completely forgotten to talk about something with Rindo! Something she said while they infiltrated the beautiful pirates's ship (the narcissism flagship) with it's even more vanity-stricken captain and the pompously dressed crew.

Getting up and walking towards her, the dark haired Kuja immediately stopped what she was doing and watched her like a hawk.

"Hi, got a minute?"

"I think I have hours to be honest…." Her response was deadpan, but there was a brief moment where her eyes looked at the slightly shaking Shirahoshi, but not in a condescending or blaming way "….at least until nightfall that is"

"Well, true" Vivi responded with a small laugh "We might need to gather some firewood, perhaps get some better shelter than here on the beach" she finished, gesturing at the small campsite they'd chosen. Not much to look at, but better than remaining on the seas and be subject to the waves.

"Covering the fire would be enough I think, either that, or covering the marks from the keel and hide amongst the palms over there"

"Yeah that seems like a good idea for later…." Vivi was silent for a moment, not quite sure how to proceed "You mentioned something earlier at that ship earlier, remember?"

"About what?" Rindo kept going through the packets of crackers, small barrels of freshwater and the odd bottle of wine that had snuck into the provisions

"About…." Vivi struggled to remember "..oh yes! That… _thing_ your mother wrote in her diary"

"Are you talking about your mothers?"

The voice had been timid, shaking and endearingly cute, and Vivi wasn't at all surprised that it belonged to Shirahoshi, the mermaid princess' hearing seemed on par with her size.

"Yes…erh, I mean no…" Vivi began, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly as she tried to find a way to reasonably explain the situation.

"We got to talking when we infiltrated the ship, I mentioned something my mother wrote, nothing much really" Rindo responded offhandedly, not bothering with how much it sounded like she was brushing the question (and Shirahoshi) off.

The mermaid completely ignored the Kuja's curtness however, instead leaning downwards so to be better able to speak to them (and perhaps look less intimidating, but Vivi doubted that she considered herself such).

"What did you mother-sama write Rindo-sama?" Shirahoshi inquired, her large eyes shinning with that wonderful mix of interest and anticipation that Vivi recognised from her time on the Going Merry (Luffy loved pretty much everything he came across on the seas).

For a moment Rindo was silent, perhaps weighing the pros and cons of telling Shirahoshi that particular information (Vivi couldn't make herself think that it was to spare the mermaid any potential hurt or discomfort) "That Fishmen were a savage race and couldn't be trusted"

"….Oh…" Shirahoshi fell silent, a shade of grey appearing on her face as the words sunk in "… how many fishmen have your mother met?"

"None" Rindo looked lazily at Shirahoshi, her face emotionless, her lips only puffing on her cigarette. Meanwhile Vivi could only look back and forth between the two women, not being quite sure it was wise to base a view on a race on what seemed to be rumours.

"….Then how could she make that assertion?"

Taking another puff, Rindo paused looking thoughtful for a moment "….Someone told her, long ago, she mentioned him a few times in her diary…."

As Rindo fell silent, not knowing how to proceed, Vivi couldn't control her confusion

"Him? I thought that Amazon Lily was only inhabited by women?"

"It is"

"Then…. How do you…. Become more…?" Vivi began uncertainly, not being entirely comfortable with the subject matter and as she looked at her companions, their blushes showed her that they shared the sentiment.

"If a woman wants a daughter, they leave the island, comes back pregnant" the curt answer was given in such a matter of fact tone that should have calmed any interest in the subject, but given it's nature, Vivi couldn't help but blush a little.

"Sometimes, they're all happy to be home, while some hope they can go out again soon, don't know why though….." Rindo continued going through their meagre supplies, which left Vivi, Shirahoshi and Rebecca time to blush a deeper shade of red "Mother wanted to go back as soon as i was born though…. Don't know why, our home's great" She continued, only stopping when Vivi held up a hand in front of her, Rebecca and Shirahoshi doing the same. Cocking an eyebrow, Rindo observed them with calm, if confused eyes

"Why do you all look so nervous? Is there something behind me?" slowly reaching for a crate lid, Rindo looked like she was getting ready for a fight, eyes no longer observing them, but squinting a little, growing cold and calculating "Did those fishmen sneak up on us again?"

"NO!... no" Vivi waved her hands in front of her frantically, trying to distract the Kuja "We're just…. Having a bit of a cultural…. Misunderstanding, that's all!"

"Then…."

Vivi looked over at Marguerite, the blonde Kuja scratching her head in confusion

"What do you do to get a child?"

Vivi blushed madly now, the Kuja might be the more ferocious fighters, their warrior culture being renowned up and down the Grand Line (and probably below it too), but when it came to men and women on the rest of the sea, they were extremely unknowledgeable.

"Well…." Vivi began, not being certain how she could wiggle her way out of explaining the birds and the bees to the two pirates, both of whom were looking expectantly at her, silently pleading for an answer.

Help came from an unexpected front.

A happy squeal from Rebecca distracted the assembled women and as Vivi turned around, she could understand why.

Viola had woken up, her brows furrowing, a groan slowly escaping her lips.

When she looked up into Rebecca's eyes, the Dressrosan Princess couldn't do anything but smile.

"VIOLA-SAN! YOU'RE AWAKE!"

Even as the pinkhaired girl hugged her tightly, still saying her name as if she had been in mortal peril, Viola smiled gratefully, even if it appeared to Vivi that she was in danger of going deaf from all the _Viola-san_ the girl was spouting.

The older woman waking up had been a godsent save for Vivi, who wasn't late to capitalize on the change and suggest that they could move on.

Hopefully, Vivi wouldn't need to explain basic procreation to the Kuja anytime soon…

* * *

( **on the sunny, several hours later** )

"So this is it? This is as far as you two's visions go?"

Looking at her captain and the ships' chef, Nami couldn't help but feel a tad of pride as at least one looked down in shame and depression. Luffy wasn't paying attention and was looking at the seas in all directions, annoyance evident on his face.

"Nami-san, you really can't blame this on Snaji-san and Luffy" turning around, Nami looked at Jinbe, standing behind the wheel as if he'd never done anything else, steering the ship through the calm waters "we knew from their campsite that they had somehow gotten supplies and a boat, so of course they'd try to get away on their own"

Nami could only pout and look down in shame at his words, he was right obviously, but she really wanted to went her frustrations at someone, and those that could actually help them home in on a course were both completely out of visions at the moment.

Sanji's perv-voyancy was down for the moment and Luffy didn't feel that he was losing out on any excitement either.

So neither could get a… _signal_.

It ws beyond frustrating. Nami was the navigator, she was in charge of setting the course, she used maps and charts and common sense and logic…. And her bountiful experience at predicting weather patterns. Being reliant on two nitwits' sudden and unpredictable fancies which came and went like the wind turned in the New World…. Was a bit intolerable for her.

Taking a deep breath and counting to ten had lost its' charm and effect years ago so now all Nami could think of that might ease her nerves were finding some treasure along the way (preferably an evil country's ransom or the tribute meant for the tenryubito (or even the bounty from one of their enemies, that'd be nice too, really nice in fact, their finances hadn't been the best lately)).

But thoughts about economy had to stand aside, they had friends to save!

While Nami looked at a map for the umpteenth time, Franky walked up the stairs to join them on the bridge.

"Okay, I'm gone over the stocks, we've got enough Coal for about 2 shots, but not anymore"

"what's with the _about_ , Franky-san?"

"Well Jinbe, I've got my own needs too you know" Franky smiled at him, clicking his nose and exchanging his usual haircut with one shaped like a barrel "We'll need to get more soon, I've got needs you know"

Nami sighed

 _Great! More expenses, if this continued they might have to act their profession and board a merchant ship._

"What's that?"

Turning to Luffy, Nami saw him standing at the railing, pointing down at something.

When she joined him, she saw what he meant.

A huge dark… _something!_ was sloshing around in the water, it's huge form bopping up and down in the water, being covered by the water now and then.

Jinbe looked at them thoughtfully, a hand on his chin.

"That's afish" he eventually stated

"That's very perceptive Jinbe" Sanji cut in, his voice filled with sarcasm "Did the fins give it away?"

"Can I eat it?"

Nami slapped Luffy over the head, part by reflex, part by experience "Don't say that! Don't you remember last time you just went and ate a fish right out of the ocean?!"

"Yeah, it was yummy, especially the skin!" Luffy smiled and licked his lips, oblivious to the danger he had been in at the time, and the one he was in at the present, Nami being more than a little tempted to slap him silly. Fortunately for the Strawhat captain, Nami settled for yelling at him.

"YOU ALMOST DIED!"

"This ain't the same fish is it?" Luffy drooled on, a small part of his brain starting to understand that it might be a good idea to listen to his navigator for a change.

Meanwhile, down in the water, the fish had bumped into the Sunny, which led to the black body turning over in the water.

Nami took in the sight with some rising dread. It wasn't that the fish was almost as large as the Sunny that scared her.

Nor was it the vicious horns on either side of it's head.

Or the fanged teeth that was trapped in a bloodthirsty grin.

It was the fact that it bore numerous battlescars, slashes from swords, wounds from polearms and damages to its' body and head that looked like they had been inflicted with fists alone!

Someone dangerous were in these waters that was for sure!

Next to her, Luffy had stopped drooling and looked down at the fish thoughtfully, Nami didn't believe that it was a good sign.

"I think I've seen one of this before… just can't remember….. oh well" the captain shrugged, much to Nami's dismay

"It's one of the fighting fish we encountered in Dressrosa Luffy, those are some bloodthirsty beasts" Sanji informed the group "I could cook it, but I think the meat has turned bad by all those injuries"

"What's more important…" Jinbe interrupted the chef

"….what dealt the damage" Franky finished for him, one of the shipwrights' metallic hands already extending down and tugging at the mouth of the fish, trying to free something from its' teeth.

When he finally got it free, the cyborg examined the object.

"It's a piece of wood…" was all Franky could state, looking at the wood, a bent nail connecting it to another, the fishes' teeth having sawed through some of it, and bitten through another.

"Not just that" Jinbe reached for the flotsam, examining it more closely "It's the same type of wood as the trahs we found on the beach from before"

"Which means that we're on the right track" Nami smiled at the news reaching for her maps and charts.

Going over what she knew of the local sea currents, Nami could quickly see where the fish might have come from, as long as it hadn't been thrown off to the side or somehow flown from somewhere else.

And with Jinbe at the wheel, the sunny began to pick up speed rapidly.

* * *

( **on the seas, around dusk** )

Vivi yawned as she stretched, her back against an almost empty barrel of drinking water.

After their meeting of two groups of Princess hunters, their little group had decided against making camp anywhere near the rocky archipelago. Instead, the crew had decided, especially considering that Viola-san was not unconscious anymore and thus fit for travel, that they could go a little further than before, perhaps continue into the night and avoid any more sudden pirate attacks.

That was not to say there were not dangers involved with sailing at night. More than once they'd been forced to steer clear of some very long ships that patrolled the waters like a frenzy of sharks, but now they were pretty much alone on the sea, neither a ship nor a raft in sight. There were however, a few isles that could hide them if need be, but the same could be said of a pirate ship, or worse, more slavers.

But right now she couldn't help but love the gentle splash of the waves as they hit the boat. Shirahoshi had begun swimming gently through the water with the boat instead of hauling it around, not only was it far less tiring, but it also allowed her to chat with those that were sitting in the boat.

And chat they did.

Rindo and Marguerite had still some questions about men and women, but fortunately for Vivi (and, she assumed, for Rebecca and Shirahoshi) Viola had plenty of experience in that department, so they were off the hook for explaining the mechanics.

"….so basically if you like a guy, you go on a date with him and if he is gallant and kind and attractive and cute and…." Viola droned on, a small blush playing on her cheeks while her eyes shone like little Christmas lights. To Vivi's delight she hadn't yet come to the part where things became…. _Private._

"That doesn't' answer our question about pregnancy at all" Rindo stated bluntly, looking straight at her while smoking her last cigarette.

"I'm coming to that, first you have to have a man….." Viola continued, visibly annoyed at being interrupted

"So that's a prerequisite?"

"What's a perereguisid?" Marguerite cut in, scratching her temple in confusion

Grunting in annoyance, Rindo turned to her comrade who sat next to her, and not for the first time Vivi noted how much the two of them looked, at least in the waning light, and if you ignored the different haircuts the two of them could pass as twins.

"It's something you have to have in order to get something else"

"Like haki and a snake for being one of the empress personal warriors?"

"Yes, pretty much" turning back to Viola Rindo opened her mouth to speak again "If you'd continue, that'd be perfect"

"Yes… a man is a prerequisite for getting pregnant…" Viola began hesistantly, to Vivi it appeared that she half expected to be interrupted again (she wasn't disappointed)

"Do you speak out of experience on this matter?" Rindo's question took Viola off guard, making her blush all the harder, her shoulders trembling a little and for an extended moment she was speechless as her nervous eyes darted from Rindo, to Shirahoshi, to Vivi, Marguerite and ending up on Rebecca, where she grew visibly nervous, sweating a little and starting to avoid eye contact.

"Tha-that-that's…." Viola began stuttering, her blush turning a deeper red than before as she tried to find a suitable response, looking nervously at Rebecca for some reason, which really wasn't a good idea when dealing with someone as attentive as the Kuja.

"So you know something she doesn't?" Marguerite spoke to Rebecca, who began to blush at the question

"SHE MOST CERTAINLY DOES NOT!" Viola responded angrily, an arm raised defensively in front of the pink haired girl. The Kuja's response wasn't much better, eyes narrowing and reaching for object to use as weapons. Vivi knew that at least Rindo wasn't much for thrusting anyone and she had apparently shared her views with a sliglty reluctant Marguerite. The situation had grown from awkward to downright dangerous in the matter of seconds.

"Perhaps it's best if we didn't talk too much about this with Viola-sama, she seems upset" Shirahoshi cut in, much to the relief of Vivi. Had things escalated they might have a serious problem on their hands. Fortunately, the two Kuja seemed to tolerate the suggestion, at least for the time being.

"By the way.." Vivi began, drawing every ones attention "… Rindo-saan, did your mother ever mention who told you mother those… _interesting_ things?"

For a moment the Kuja looked like she was considering the question.

"eerrh, Ri-" Vivi began after a while of not getting any response, only for Rindo to hold up a silencing finger.

"I read it years ago, can't rember it properly, _**F**_ …. something, Fe, Freeeer….?" The kuja tried without any luck, scratching her chin trying to remember the name

"Fruit I think… Fruit-something or another, Seller perhaps"

"A _fruit merchant_ told your mother that horrible thing?" Vivi looked aghast at the Kuja. All Rindo did in response was to nod "Yeah, that's what he was called _Fruit Merchant_ , didn't say much about him besides that"

At her seat Rebecca began to giggle "Perhaps it was your dad" snorting the pinkhaired girl tried to stifle a teasing laugh. Both Kuja just looked at her, silent and with raised eyebrows.

"What's a… _dadde_?"

Vivi looked at the befuddled pirates with more than a bit of surprise, _well figures, if they're only women on Amazon Lily, they don't have fathers… poor girls_

"A dad is the same as a father"

"So a man-parent?"

"Yes, exactly"

Both Marguerite and Rindo leaned back, deep in thought about what they' had just heard, both with a strange faraway look in their eyes, as if their whole world view had been turned upside down.

The rest of the women merely shrugged at the Kuja's ignorance of the rest of the world.

They didn't have much time to talk about other things however, as a moment later, a loud splash erupted off to the portside!

A collective scream followed from several of the women, shocked and afraid of the new development. The following wave would have capsized their boat if Shirahoshi hadn't held on to it, yet still there were crates and barrels that tipped over and Vivi herself fell into the bottom of the boat, landing on her elbows and tore her dress in the process.

"IS IT THE SLAVERS AGAIN?" Marguerite blurted out, looking at the water, half expecting another fighting fish to emerge from the deeps.

"NO! LOOK!"

As soon as Vivi had hoisted herself up against a crate, she could see what Rebecca had meant.

Looking across the waves, three of the ships they'd seen earlier had appeared from behind one of the islands.

In the advancing darkness little detail could be seen upon them.

One thing was certain however, made even more evident from the second projectile the landed in the water starboard side, not 3 meters from Shirahoshi.

The mermaid didn't waste any time (except for screaming) and started to tug at the boat, swiftly accelerated herself and the vessel through the water and away from danger.

Vivi wasn't confident that the mermaid could outrun the range of the huge cannons that seemed to be positioned right in the front of the hostile ships.

* * *

 **(On the Sunny)**

Nami almost yelled as soon as Sanji ran for the bridge screaming his lungs out for Jinbe to change their course as he could sense the princesses being in danger.

Next to her, Jinbe squirmed as he removed the fingers from his ears, while all the others around the dinner table did the same (except for Zoro who was busy both drinking and cursing the chef for his cooking).

"Perhaps I should go after him before the ship turns?"

"That might be a pretty good idea Jinbe-chan" Nami confided, hoping against reason that it wouldn't give her (or her friends) any seasickness.

As soon as the ship began to turn sharply, as if it was caught in a storm, the nights dinner began to fly all over the place, most of the plates of fighting fish, either baked, roasted, stewed or made into a delectable sushi (and the assorted accompaniments) only avoiding being spilled due to Robins' devilfruit ability. A dozen arms held unto the platters and the cutlery, even as the different members of the crew began to land, butts, cheeks and front first on the floor and the furniture of the kitchen.

Nami was perceptive enough to hold unto the table, and so did not curse like the rest of the crew present.

Zoro was lying in a puddle of Sake, fish dishes and salad, with a plate of spaghetti and mushroomsauce mixed into his otherwise green hair could have been hilarious under different circumstances, but the look in his one open eye would stop anyone sane from doing so in less than a heartbeat.

Unfortunately, Luffy was too stupid to be sane, and even as his state wasn't much better, Sushi and fishstew intermingling all over his body, he couldn't supress a hearty laugh at the swordsmans' expense, much to the latter's chagrin.

Usopp swore as he tried to rise from the slippery floor, being helped by a more joyus Brook (lucky bastard was too light to slip on the greased-up floor) and Franky (who in contrast was too heavy to be bothered with a little sauce spill).

Carrot and Chopper were laughing like crazy at the scene, copying Luffy's reaction. Outside Nami could hear Jinbe yell at Sanji for getting him thrown overboard. The subsequent loud splash that could be heard from the outside told a satisfying tale of justified revenge being both swift and decisive.

As she got out on the bridge she could see that the water… whatever it was Jinbe had fired at him, had little effect. The steam was coming off of him, surrounding him like an aura, his tongue hanging out off his mouth like that of a dog and his eyes "starring" straight ahead (having ones pupil turning into eyes made it hard to determine where they were looking, Nami assumed it was in the direction they were pointing).

Deciding against scolding him like she wanted to (which was unnecessary both because of their new helmsmans' retribution, and because Zoro would exit the kitchen as soon as he had drunk all the spilled alcohol and immediately chew out the chef to the best of his ability).

Fortunately, Sanji was coherent enough in his explanation that Nami could pinpoint an area that their friends were in from her maps.

"Ok, now we just have to get there…" Nami began, before she was interrupted by the rest of the crew.

"Franky, load the _Coup De Burst_!"

"Can't do that Luffy, we don't have much cola left!"

"Yeah Luffy, we need that to get away if it's too tough for us!"

"Stop worrying Usopp, it'll be fine! Think of how much fun we'll have!"

"Luffy, Usopp and Franky are right!" Nami noted to her satisfaction that her captain was listening to her for a change, turning towards her with a slightly disappointed (and definitely sour) look on his face.

"You'll have plenty of excitement when we save our friends, this whole search is one big adventure after all!"

"No it isn't! We've just been sailing around since for ever, not knowing if we'd find them or not! I want to find them as soon as we can!"

Nami frowned, wanting to pinch the bridge of her nose (or slap her captain silly), but on a level she could understand his impatience, it had been troubling her for a while as well. But personal opinions and emotions had too be put on hold when it came to efficiency.

"Luffy if Sanji is right and they're in danger, it's better we…"

"GET THERE FASTER!"

"NO!; KNOW WHAT WE'RE IN FOR YOU DUNDERHEAD!" She roared at him, joined by both Usopp, Chopper and Carrot.

After having told him three times, it finally seemed to sink in, and after both making sure that Luffy couldn't take the submersible either (reminding him that he still hadn't had food worked wonders sometimes) and Nami had improved their sailing speed by filling the sails with a well timed Gust Sword, The Strawhat Pirates' ship, the Thousand Sunny, moved onwards.

* * *

( **In the main castle of the Germa Kingdom, in the evening** )

Cobra had expected a wild story when the kings gathered around the Prodence King and the petite head chef of the Germa's main castle.

The girl had still been shaking like a leaf after the ordeal (Though Cobra half expected it was because she was surrounded by men of power, which kings naturally were, one of which were her own liege, whom she seemed more than a little terrified of).

Elizabello scowled and seemed more disappointed than upset at what had happened.

The Prodence King could only tell that they'd been at a cosy little restaurant where Niji were about to get some food (which seemed odd to Elizabello, since there were going to be a banquet not much later in the evening) and when the fighting king had turned around to visit the men's room a loud crash had erupted from the dining area, followed by several more, not to mention all the panicked shouts and screams of men and women alike.

When he'd emerged from the men's room (through the wall no less) he'd found that most of the restaurant had been abandoned and demolished, little chef girl to one side looking horrified at the crater that had appeared in the middle of the floor amidst broken walls and shattered furniture.

When he looked down into the crater, Elizabello had been forced to agree that ithad been some sight: Prince Niji of the Germa Kingdom, battered, beaten and bowed like one of the fighting kings' own sandbags, blood dripping from bruises, his clothes torn from being hammered into walls, tables and cutlery, his glasses shattered and his mouth jammed full of broken chairs and the remains of someone else's dinner.

"It looked like a sack that had been filled to capacity I tell ya!" Elizabello said as he ended his tale "I think I dug a fullsize boar out of his mouth! And it's piglets! ALL….. On a Silver Platter! And then there were the stuff that had been forced into his ears….."

Blinking a few times at the very idea of what his son had been put through, Judge eventually turned to Cosette "WHAT….. happened?" the first word was yelled, the other set somewhere between normal and a hoarse, throat-wringing whisper, the kind that were only used by dying men and those whom would soon seek vengeance. When he was done the King of Germa looked like he was ready to give up from mere shock alone.

Stammering her way through an explanation, Cosette almost couldn't control her fear, but eventually Cobra started to make sense of the whole situation:

They'd visited a restaurant as Elizabello had stated, and after he'd left, Cosette had been spoken to by an odd, and very large man under a cloak.

The man had stated he could tell she was a chef, didn't say how, and had started, for gods knew what reason, to order food from her, while he was eating the before mentioned boar (and piglets!).

The most esteemed prince Niji (in Cosettes' own words) had stepped in to stop the man behaving inappropriately, at which point the man had escalated his behaviour in great excess.

The man had attacked Prince Niji and destroyed the restaurant completely!

After that Cobra had left the light hospital area, leaving Judge and the other Vinsmokes to have a moment to themselves.

Cobra saw right through the whole thing.

Hell, he heard through it!

As soon as he'd left the tower he could hear the fighting break out, the complaints, the blame and the chastising flying around like a murder of crows, some howls of rage and confusion.

In short: the very picture of a family that was used to one thing and was getting something completely different.

As he was pushed through the dark and metallic hallways of the main castles outskirts, Cobra couldn't help but smile. Throughout his stay as the Germa's guest, the Vinsmokes had tried to display themselves as the perfect royal family, dignified, proud and completely cut off from their subjects.

It was all an act to make them look good before the other kings they were hosting, and why wasn't hard too realise. Pell had been right that the Vinsmokes had been planning something and Judge-dono's previous offer had only proven it even more.

To a more benevolent ruler like Cobra, it was a mark of the kind of royalty that the world hated, and to him, the world were the people put before, the ones who led them.

Most royalty had it the other way around, like Flevance in North Blue for example.

Taking another turn down the ever darkening corridor, a thought struck Cobra:

"Pell…." his voice was low, lower than it ought to be, as if he was about to fall asleep, but it also spoke of a man that was alert.

"Yes your highness, I sense it too…."

"No need to sense anything, just look"

"Yes… it's pitch black here…" Pell tensed behind Cobra, his grip on the handles of the wheelchair tightening "And there should be guards here too…."

"Indeed, there should be life…. Servants…. Soldiers…."

"Do you think it's an ambush?"

"I doubt it, we're already in the grasp of the Vinsmokes, they'd get nothing by killing us before they get what they **want** " Cobra gritted his teeth.

As soon as he'd finished his sentence, a sound began to ring down the corridor. Short, deliberate and full of sarcasm.

Someone, out in the darkness, was applauding him!

Three claps was all he was given, too slow to show any joy from whomever the clapper was and that in itself spoke volumes. If only he could manage to read the pages at one point.

Whomever had applauded him, hadn't made a sound beyond that, all Cobra could hear were his and Pells' breath and the occasional squeak of his wheelchair.

"And **what** do they want?"

The voice was strangely hollow and dry, as if the speaker was a ghost in a tomb, like one of the mummies he'd been told stories of when he was a child. If he wasn't sick already, he'd be terrified.

"You tell me" Cobra began to respond, a trickle of sweat starting to run down his forehead "You seemed so knowledgeable before, or was that just an act?"

Again the slow clap came, three times again, still without Cobra being able to pinpoint where the person was.

But somehow, the king of Alabasta could feel that the person was close.

"It's a question of math really" the voice began, still as stone and as sure as destiny

"Math?" Pell began, confused at the strangers' words, and a little irritated that they didn't explain it better

"three and three…" Cobra began, his face grave, his teeth gritted so tight together that his jaws were beginning to hurt.

"Your highness, what do you mean by…."

"Three princesses are missing…. And here comes a king with three princes, simple math…." The assured voice came again, interrupting Pell, like a lightning bolt from a clear sky.

"So that's their plan…." Pell began to draw the wheelchair back as he spoke, trying to distance Cobra from the voice, something about the person made his ears prick and the hairs at the back of his head stand on end.

"Exactly…." The voice came out of the darkness again, closer this time around "…with the Germa's recent mistake of trying to ally with Big Mom, they're in need Of Allies, and three kingdoms that have suffered under the yoke of Yonko and the mistakes of the marines, seems to be in need of allies aswell"

Cobra looked shocked into the blackness, his shock prevalent in his tone "They tried to allly with Big Mom? Who were they going to sell off to that old hag?"

"Why the black sheep of the family off course…" the voice continued, coming from his left, but Cobra could tell that Pell coul feel the person's presence to the right. Naturally the bodyguard pulled the wheelchair a little faster backwards, seeking an escape from the stranger.

"Who would that be?" Cobra blurted out, trying to distract the voice from what his bodyguard was doing.

"Reiju, ichiji, Niji, Yonji…." The voice recited, clam as a gentle breeze, but there was a storm beneath it somewhere, both Pell and Cobra could feel as much. Whomever they were dealing with, were strong, and they knew it!

"There's one missing…." Cobra began, catching on faster than Pell did "0, 1, 2, and 4…. Sanji-kun is a Vinsmoke!" he said it outloud, genuinely shocked, but forcing up the volume any way, trying to alert anyone nearby to what was going on here.

"Yes… the little chef turned out to be a Prince. You're catching on faster than I expected of you, Cobra Nefertari"

"How did you know who I am… I can't even see a hand in front of me"

"Experience, knowledge…. And I read your medical report"

"WHAAA?!" Cobra could genuinely not control his surprise at this, this man had been in the hospital wing, going through his personal papers…. _But why?_

"Why would you be interested in my health?" Cobra was shaking a little now anger and surprise mixing together in the bottom of his stomach.

"I'm not" the voice responded in a manner matter of fact tone "I just got bored as I eave-stropped on the tall tale the chef told you"

"And how would you know it was a tall tale? Unless you were there…"

"Yes…" the voice responded, the tone indicating neither urgency nor emotion. "The girl lied a lot, but that is inconsequential to me"

"How so? What, if I may ask, happened exactly" Still Pell pulled Cobra backwards, and still the voice did not get more distant, the person was obviously following them. _Good,_ was all Cobra could think at the time.

"I was trying to enjoy my mediocre meal….. the chef didn't know how to season it properly, then I have the fortune to meet a chef that in contrast knew what she was doing, so I began conversing with the little girl…" the voice droned on, seemingly oblivious to how unnerving their presence were to Pell and Cobra.

"how did you know that Cosette-chan was a chef?" Pell said, his eyes fixed ahead of him, while still pulling his liege's wheelchair backwards.

"Girl was perceptive of her surroundings and was scrutinizing the dishes in the restaurant even more than I were… the burns on her hands from boiling oil and cuts from knives were another indication of her trade"

Cobra was starting to be afraid of this person, anyone that paid that much attention to detail was bound to be a problem.

"So you wanted her to cook a meal for you? That's all you did?"

"Indeed, then the little prince got impatient and tried to assault me" the voice stopped, and a deep condescending chuckle travelled down the hall, the voice's opinion on the germa princes' capability being plain to both Pell and Cobra, and given the state that Niji had arrived in, Cobra agreed wholeheartedly. If he had been a sadist, he was pretty sure he'd have joined in the chuckle.

"If that's true, then Cosette-chan lied about what happened, but…." Pell began, trying to keep the voice distracted as he sped up their escape, hoping that the voice and whomever the person were would soon be revealed by the light. With every step it felt as if the darkness became a little bit thinner, and soon they might see an outline of whomever it was that had attacked the prince earlier.

"Not hard to understand why, as soon as the pest started talking she acted like she was staring down aa gun barrel, and with good reason I'd say" the voice continued, the person behind it never straying far from the two men, even as it started to become lighter in the hall.

"You're coming with some pretty harsh accusations against my hosts right now…" Cobra began, hoping that some sort of guard would hear them and come investigate.

"Accusations are aa light word for it, what I offer is judgements, but before I can judge you King of Alabasta, there is something I'm not aware of…"

"And what would that be?" Cobra wrinkled his brow in confusion, the tone of the voice for the first time gaining an edge of uncertainty.

"You know that You're dying…" the voice began tentatively, the owner calmly observing Cobra from somewhere in the darkness before him "… so are you really that foolish to try and save your daughter with what little time you have left?" the voice finished, leaving Cobra stunned, not because the speaker knew of his condition (he'd read his medical report after all), more because the voices' owner didn't understand common empathy or the love a parent had for their children.

Behind him, Cobra could feel Pelll fuming and itching to assault the speaker, either with words of his own or with his sword. Holding up a hand to stop him subordinate, Cobra began to speak, his voice firm and strong, despite his disease, he could stand behind every word.

"Vivi is my daughter! If I didn't try and save her what father would I be?"

"One that might live a few months longer" the response shot back like a bullet, making Cobra scowl.

"It's worth it, if you had any children of your own, you wouldn't hesitate to aid them if they needed it!"

Now, all he got in response was a scoff, the stranger seemingly not believing him in the least.

But from the sound of rapid approaching footsteps, Cobra didn't care in the least about that.

"HE'S HERE!, THE ASSAILANT OF PRINCE NIJI IS HERE IN THE CASTLE!"

* * *

 **(on the seas)**

Vivi looked backwards again, their mermaid-drawn dinghy had begun to rapidly outpace their three pursuers.

But at the same time, Shirahoshi was growing more and more tired, which to Vivi was understandable, the poor girl had been pushed hard all day, and a short rest hadn't been enough to restore her energies (days of stress and second grade rations had their part to play as well).

In the advancing darkness however, Vivi was sure they'd lose whomever was chasing them this time. Even if Shirahoshi was running low on steam.

Meanwhile the pursuers kept firing in the water around them, but never close enough for them to be damaged in any way, _were they really that bad shots_?

Eventually, as another cannonball thundered into the water on the boats' portside, Vivi decided that the more incompetent these pursuers were, the better.

"YOU'RE DOING GREAT SHIRAHOSHI!" Vivi yelled to her labouring friend "A FEW MORE MINUTES AND WE'LL DEFINETLY LOOSE THEM!"

In the darkness that was beginning to reign over the sea, Vivi could barely see the look on Shirahoshi's face as she turned her head around to look at her. But she was getting more and more tired by the minute, that much was obvious.

As Shirahoshi did a ship right turn to avoid another projectile, Vivi noted something that had appeared ahead of them.

"Wha….?"

"MORE SHIPS!" Marguerite yelled, gripping onto one of the barrels in the boat "INCOMMING!"

A mere moment later, a cannonball blasted into the surface on their starboardside, causing Shirahoshi to twist and turn again, going backwards towards their previous pursuers.

"Shirahoshi-chan!" Vivi gasped, unsure of what was going to happen "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" She yelled while standing up in the rocking vessel.

A hand yanked har back down to a more stable position, making her topple onto her back "She's trying to make them stop shooting" Vivi looked up into the eyes of Viola "If we're close to the ships, they're unlikely to fire, just in case they hit their comrades!"

Vivi could see the logic of that, and so could their attackers, for in the next moment, a cone of light erupted from the first ships, bathing their vessel in whiteness.

"They can't see us properly" Rebecca said out loud "So if we get in between them fast, we can escape!"

Shirahoshi didn't say anything, she just swam to the best of her ability, despite being blinded by the spot that the attackers pointed straight at her, the mermaid princess managed to avoid them on several turns, despite the projectiles slamming down at their sides corralling them in and forcing them to stay in the light.

To Vivi, it appeared to make little difference to Shirahoshi, the large mermaid speeding onwards like a bullet, dragging the boat behind her like a child would a baloon on a trip to an amusement park. Which was more sinister than it sounded, sharp tuggs and pulls would eventually make the baloon float away, a danger which Vivi was getting more and more afraid of by the second.

But, the chain that Shirahoshi pulled the boat with held, and they were nearing the first ships that had shot towards them.

Behind them, the new ships had stopped firering, just like they'd hoped, for fear of hitting their comrades.

up close, Vivi could make out a little of the ships in the dying light of the passing day.

Long and slender ships as she'd previously observed, a longbarrelled cannon on the bow, the huge weapons still smoking from their last salvo.

from the masts flew the same flag, unsurprisingly, it was a pirate crews' Jolly Roger.

It wasn't one Vivi was familiar with, it was the usual skull and crossbones obviously, its' single noteworthy characteristic being the skull having an unusually high forehead (It looked like one of the Marine Vice admirals she'd seen at Reverie, _Strawferry_ _or something?_ Truth be told: Vivi hadn't payed much attention to all the marines that were present, there'd been an army after all!).

But all that didn't matter, in a few short moments, they'd pass by the ships and make a swift escape.

the whole boat shook as a cannonball thundered down in the water to the portside, making all the girls within it scream and cringe at the shock. At this point, they were close enough to the ships, that they could be heard on it, and vice versa. Already Vivi could hear excited howls from the crews' officers, barking orders to get them trapped in the spot, so they could shoot at them propperly.

It was futile.

they were already too close for thier cannons.

In the short span of time, darkness had almost completely descended upon the waves, the last few rays of red, orange and near purple light mirroring upon the surface of the sea, making whatever obstructed their path appear vast and infinetly more monstrous than it would in normal lightning, such as the ships they were approaching at a rapid pace.

The cone were upon them again, though it focussed more on Shirahoshi than on their little craft.

The large mermaid didn't seem to bother with avoiding it anymore, and Vivi agreed, they were too close for the attackers to attack them now, a few more seconds and they'd be be able to make a succesful escape. The ships had no way of turning around to pursue them and Vivi couldn't see any more of the long ships behind them. There was also less danger for them to be shot at any more, from her time as a pirate, Vivi had never heard of a ship that had a cannon placed in the rear.

As their craft shot through the water between the ships, large cones of bright, blinding light bathing both the dinghy and Shirahoshi in warmth, Vivi smiled confidently.

They were going to make it!

She smiled with mirth at the shouts from the attackers, yelling that their little group had gone in between which ships.

Then a loud howl echoed across the ships, drowning out all other sounds.

" **PUUUUUUUUULLLLLLL!** "

Vivi scarcely had time to comprehend the word, before their boat came too a sudden halt that sent her, and everyone in the boat, loose their hold and slam into the bottom of the boat, the cones of light concentrating on them, casting pitch black shadows beneathe their fallen forms.

Raising her throbbing head above the railing, Vivi saw to her horror what had happened.

A giant, dark net had been raised from the dephts between the ships, their thick masks holding a weary Shirahoshi like a giant fish caught by a trawler. Vivi watched the mermaids' shoulders tremble each time she took a deep, rapid and exhausted breath. It felt like a stab in the heart for her.

Even if they somehow managed to get free of the net (which Rindo and Marguerite had already begun to cut with pieces of crates, but with little luck) there was practically no way for them to escape!

Slowly the net ascended, dragging the mermaid and the dinghy upwards.

Vivi could see that they were surrounded, the crewmembers that were not busy pulling at sturdy ropes connected to the net, were aiming long rifles and pistols at them.

It was unlikely that they'd fired any killshots, at least intentionally, but thei group had little choice but to surrender.

a concclusion they all arrived to without a word.

Much to the joy and celebration of the attackers,

the women, as one, raised their arms, admitting defeat,

and submitting to their captors.

* * *

 **End of chapter 8**

I'd like to thank the new followers of this fic (and potential watchers) for their attention and I hope that you've enjoyed the story thus far, there's going to be many more new chapters in the future.

Threads this time around:

The Strawhats: are to rapidly catch up to their missing friends.

The Princesses: Viola is back up and the girls keep on moving, right into a trap.

The princes hunters: one more crew joins the fray!

The royals: Germa has been infiltrated, and Cobra is standing right before him!

Rnr if you'd be so kind, I can't get better without some feedback


	9. Chapter 9: Boarded!

**Blood binds like Iron Chains 9**

 **Boarded!**

* * *

 **(upon the seas)**

Vivi struggled as she was put in chains, feeling the cold metal grind and bite into her wrists, but that did nothing to infuriate her, she could ignore the discomfort.

She had a much harder time tolerating the looks on the pirates' faces as they surveyed their prices. Smug grins, lusty stares at the young women in front of them and some even had the audacity to rip pieces of their clothes as if they were souvenirs!

But their protests were drowned out, as were the pirates' hooting, by the bellowing voice of the captain.

As she looked at the man, as he stepped into the light of the lanterns that hung from the masts and rested in the hands of his crew Vivi sincerely wanted to hide in a hole.

They'd been captured by a dark-skinned, short, rotund, shirtless mand with a a long white beard and a matching mop of hair that constituted most of his height, capped off by a hat with the crews' jolly roger on it (the elongated skull on it, mimicking the captains' hair perfectly).

Part of her wanted to laugh, the rest wanted to cringe, the latter won that one by miles.

Especially when the captain started laughing, longer and harder than the rest of his crew.

As his little beady eyes looked them over, one by one, Vivi couldn't help but feel that she and her companions were in far deeper trouble than she first thought!

* * *

( **In the** _ **Germa main castle**_ )

It had happened in a heartbeat.

One moment the soldiers of the Germa Kingdom had rushed down the dark hallway, lights flashing from their lambs. Pell had pulled hard at Cobras' wheelchair, hurrying to get his liege to safety. It also meant, that as they rounded a corner both the infiltrator, and any confrontation, was out of sight.

But they could still hear what was going on.

And from the screams, Cobra could tell that the soldiers were losing. Badly!

And from the sounds that the infiltrator didn't make, Cobra doubted there could even be said to be a conflict. No laughter, no mockery, nor any japes. There was only cold, efficient silence from the man, the sort that any men were capable of when they were swatting a fly!

As the pair turned another corner, they were met by a blinding light from a dozen lanterns. Msaking his eyes, all Cobra could do to identify the people in front of him, was the barrage of voices that shot at him like hail.

"King Cobra?"

"What's going on?"

"WHERE IS THE ASSAILANT?! **WHEEEEERE?"**

The last question had been roared, not just by Judge, but also from Elizabello, already cracking his knuckles through his thick boxing gloves (his epithet of _Fighting King_ was far from unearned it seemed).

"Calm down! You cannot get an answer if you don't let him answer!" before he responded, Cobra silently thanked the humongous king Neptune for his understanding attitude.

"The assailant is down the hall!"

"How do you know it's him?"

"He told me king Riku! The man is **crazy,** I tell you!"

"That's obvious if he attacks our nation" Cobra didn't need to see that it was the elder son of the Vinsmokes that had spoken, his sarcasm being all too evident in his tone, not to mention his posture and expression (and that candy red hair. Gods how Cobra hated that stupid hair!).

As the hall behind him grew silent, the last of the soldiers having fallen before their opponent, Cobra couldn't help but respond, his voice as disparaging as the ginger prince in front of him "Fool or not, he's definitely capable"

"They were just MB guards, no real strong points to be honest" Ichiji said dismissively, a scowl having crept unto his face in less than a second, unwilling to admit the infiltrator posed any threat.

"And your brother…." Riku interjected, not foolish enough to disregard the approaching threat that was stalking silently down the hall towards them "….was just a commander of your army"

"He'll pay for that in a few seconds, don't worry" Ichiji scowled, taking a swift step forward, break from the line of royalty that had gathered in the gloomy hall, passed Cobra and Pell, the latter whom didn't waste time getting his king to safety (hopefully at least), and strutting like an angry peacock towards the bend in the hall, no doubt in Cobra's mind that he intended on facing the assailant and restoring his family's honour (after having heard Judge babble about it for 30 minutes when they had visited Niji in the hospital).

Watching Ichiji march towards the bend, serious steps, cloak flapping at his shoulders, Cobra could half believe that the infiltrator he'd met would be in for the battle of his life.

Just as the Germa prince was about to turn the bend however, a shapeless blur flew through the air and slammed into the opposing wall, cracking the stone and metal panelling that lined it, leaving the body of a beaten germa soldier slide down, ending clumped up in a bruised and bleeding heap on the floor.

The sight made the Prince stop up and stunned every other royal present, not their guards however, as Pell began to roll Cobra a little behind the others.

An annoyed look from Cobra was enough to make him stop however.

Cobra somehow felt that the person he'd spoken to was not far from the bend, meaning he was less surprised when the man spoke in that odd voice, the hollowness still there, calm like a sunset over the dunes, whomever the man was, he didn't even sound winded!

"Well isn't this nice…. "

The dryness of the words made it seem to Cobra that the man was mocking them from somewhere deep inside the dark hallway, but somehow, it still felt like he was standing not a metre from him.

"How dare you show your face…." Judge began, ire and wrath so evident in his voice that they could've been separate entities from their source

"You haven't seen my face yet, little germa king" the voice responded, seemingly unconcerned by either the words of the king, or his, and the other kings', presence.

"DON'T BE SNIPPY WITH ME!"

The dry voice sighed within the hall, before something flew out from the darkness, landing on the floor near the heap of a soldier.

The sight froze Cobra on the spot.

Even in the gloom, he could recognise a bomb when someone threw it!

A little round contraption with a fuse and the number #8 on its side.

Judging from his companions' reactions, they knew what it was too.

Then the voice spoke again,

Still as unchanged as the desert itself

"…And since I now have your attention, I'll do what I came to do…."

* * *

 **(On the seas, aboard the** _ **Long Ornate Thundering Threshershark IEEKKUSU (IX)**_ **)**

Vivi couldn't stand it anymore!

The torture was unbearable!

At last she forced her mouth open to plead for mercy with a trembling voice

"Please… just please! FOR THE LOVE OF GOD; WE DON'T NEED TO HEAR YOUR FULL NAME!"

The highhaired captain of the Long Long Pirates finally fell silent as he turned to look at her.

For a full 10 minutes, the short fat man had droned on by simply introducing himself to the women before him. Held in place by several of his men (and a pair of very sturdy chains in the case of Shirahoshi and the Kuja pirates).

Vivi had stopped listening after the first 3 minutes, after which the myriad of words that made up his name had become a mush of different sounds (Vivi wasn't certain, but she vaguely remembered part of it included: Albertus, Nitro-glycerine, Hercules, Winnifred and poodlecomb). Judging from the other womens' expressions and the far away look several of them had developed in their eyes, Vivi was certain that they felt the same way.

"But I'm not done!" the bearded man proclaimed loudly, a scolding finger raised in front of Vivi's face, the scowl and the determined look in his eyes showing that he fully intended to continue the introduction, despite his prisoners' objections "… Almond Robertus Ingvar Valentinus Cynthia honorificabilitudinitatibus Bohemund Brannigan Allan Dagmar Evisceration Trevor Raymond Ballistic Monsoon Politician Daniel…." As he took a deep breath Vivi and the rest of the women cringed in unison "…Donald Frederick Ottoman Tectonic Moray Unicorn…." Another pause, looking directly into Vivis' very anxious eyes with a playful sparkle in his own "…Ib, Captain of the mighty _**Long Long Pirates**_!" the short rotund captain finished, flashing his prisoners a smug and all too proud smile, disregarding their discomfort at his lengthy barrage of words.

"Can we just call you captain?" Vivi turned to the face of Rebecca, a thin droplet of sweat running down her forehead, probably from a mixture of fear and worry (of having to repeat the word stream that she had just heard and couldn't for the life of her remember).

"Captain?" the pirate captain pursed his lips, mulling the question over "I prefer hearing at least 10 parts of my name… but since none of you have paid attention…. I'll concede" Vivi would have to loved to be free to slap the look of feigned humility from his face (glancing at the Kuja, she was certain that they'd have done a lot more damage than that).

Feeling an unwelcome hand grabbing her leg, Vivi squealed and tried to break free of the hold.

The smiling bearded face of one of the crewmembers was inches from her own, the smell of his breath hitting her full in the face, Vivi wanted to vomit from the scent.

"Enough of that!" the captain said, his face serious, despite his smile. Fortunately for Vivi, the pirate dreg let her go at his captains' orders, but not before taking a souvenir, which was a large scrap of her already torn dress.

"No more, no more of that" the captain said as he raised his arm, calling the less than pleased pirates into order "it's rude to mistreat your guests…" Smiling the captain sauntered back and forth in front of the six women with an air of supreme confidence.

"We must be at our best behaviour… as we are in the presence of royalty" he said the last word with such a sugary note that Vivi felt compelled to gag a little.

"What are you going to do with us?" it was Shirahoshi that spoke, looking down upon the much smaller pirate with dread so deeply ingrained that it appeared to be part of her very physique, the heavy chains that surrounded her rattling as she shook.

"Isn't it obvious?" not to Vivi's surprice it waasn't the captain that had answered, but Rindo, _again…_ "three princesses is going to be a lot worth to their…. _man-parents…._ "

Vivi almost smiled at the kuja's word for _father,_ seemingly still being unaccustomed to its use, or the concept for that matter.

The pirate captain looked at them with confusion practically written all over his face.

"Man-parents….?" He mumbled to himself, still trying to fathom how anyone would think of such a term.

As one of his subordinates, a tall gangly guy with pink hair, had bent down and whispered something in his hear the captaion of the Long Long pirates' face turned sour "I know she means a father Narcie! Just, not…familiar with that term of phrase…"

Taking a moment to regain his composure the captain cleared his throat before he looked at them again, his face dominated by a superior and scheming expression, the sort that arrogant and stupid people got when they knew something that they were sure others didn't.

"true, but that's not all…." The sight of his smile made Vivi nervous, a different kind of nervous than before "Handing over 3 princesses are bound to make us rich beyond our wildest dreams!" the captain proclaimed, much to the joy of his crew, their hooting and _yippees_ being even louder than before.

"but it could also give us something else!" silence reigned, breaths caught in throats, eyes widened as the crew began to fantazise about what else they could get. Much to Vivi's disgust, more than a few briefly glanced at the captured women.

"SOMETHING…." the captain roared, arms raised to the dark heavens, the last remaining light of the day mixing with that of the ships' lanterns, not illuminating the captain fully but making his skin take on a shining hue, as if the man was covered in gold.

"…THAT WILL MAKE THE SEAS TREMBLE FROM HEARING OUR NAME! THAT WILL MAKE OUR ENEMIES DESPAIR WHEN THEY SEE OUR FLAG! THAT WILL GIVE US MORE GOLD THAT COULD EVER BE SPENT! GOLD… THAT WILL SURPASS THE AMOUNT FOUND IN ONE PIECE ITSELF!"

Vivi shivered more than she had when she and the Strawhats had been at Sakura Kingdom, whatever the crazed captain had in mind, it couldn't be good for them!

"GOLD! POWER! WOMEN! ALL WILL BE OURS!"

* * *

 **(Aboard the** _ **Sunny**_ **)**

The day had passed, and night was fast approaching, the last few rays of light illuminating a few isles and ships in the distance, the gentle splash of the waves hitting the hull of the Sunny.

To Nami, it could have been so heavenly, if not for Sanji.

Barely a moment ago, the chef had started shaking and sweating, looking into the distance intently. He seemed stuck between the states of amorous and furious, which manifested in him having hearts for eyes, pounding like crazy, while his teeth were ground together, creating a racket of noise.

Now that would have been normal, given his behaviour the last few days.

But it had rubbed off on Brook, whom were looking in the same direction, tiptoeing anxiously while he tried to see what was in the distance, if he'd had a tongue, Nami was certain that it would have been lopping out like on a hound.

It wasn't bad signs per ce, it showed that there were women (with panties) nearby, but also that they were mistreated somehow, which meant that there also were some sort of danger.

The last part was cemented by Luffy looking into the distance, with a metre-wide smile on his face, his eyes set in their usual setting: Wonder and hungry for more wonder.

Zoro was feeling it too, smilingly looking into the horizon, his left-hand swaying back and forth, seemingly etching to grab one of his swords and swing it like he had to cut down a Seaking.

Usopp was caught between sneaking off, somewhere safe no doubt (Nami was of half a mind to follow suit), and staying at the cannons, which in his hands were usually the safest place to be (at least for Usopp, Nami's of the safest place on a battlefield was usually somewhere near Luffy, even if he sought out all the most dangerous areas like a child would a piece of candy).

Looking behind her, Nami concluded that Jinbe was the most collected individual aboard the ship. Clutching the wheel in a firm grip, the fishman and former shichibukai stood as still as a statue, except his eyes that were scanning the dark horizon before them, sometimes fixating on one thing and them moving on (most people had a hard time judging his mood based on his eyes, fishmen seemed to have pretty much the same expression in them at all times no matter what mood they were in, Nami, on the other hand, had (much to her displeasure) practically grown up alongside fishmen, so she could detect minute changes in whatever a fishman would do at any point. It was like when she predicted what sort of weather it would be in the next 5 minutes, easy as pie).

The only one that were not smelling that battle was on the winds, seemed to be Carrot, who were jumping from the top of the mast, down to the grassy deck and up on the bridge to go garchu on Nami or Jinbe. All the while poor Chopper was trying to keep up and avoid that there to keep her out of trouble, or at the very least not get in someone's way.

Neither Robin or Franky were on the deck, assumingly caught up in reading about the ruins in the New World and tinkering with the docking system respectively.

Looking through the spyglass, Nami pursed her lips at what went on in the horizon.

"What do you see Nami-san?"

"Ships, 2 of them, coming straight for us…"

Scoffing, the huge fishman's faced remained unchanged "If we're lucky, we can cut down on search time then"

Nami nodded in agreement before she put the spyglass before her eye, watching the approaching ships in anticipation.

Somehow, the ships seemed familiar…

* * *

( **In** _ **Germa Kingdom**_ )

Cobra trembled, not from fear, but from excitement, whoemever the infiltrator were, he definitely knew how to catch people's attention.

The bomb that lay on the floor was a nasty one, small and compact, but with a massive blast radius, easily capable of thrashing the entire hallway and everything within.

Between the bomb and himself, Cobra noted that Ichiji just scoffed, before taking a step forward.

"Ichiji! Stop and get back here!" Judge's words rang clearly through the hall, compelling his eldest son to cease his action and obey, albeit reluctantly.

"But father, this madman surely isn't crazed enough to detonate it in here! The blast will kill him too!"

"True, but I will not sacrifice one of my children when he does so!" Ichiji simply folded his arms in response, sulking away.

"Are you done?" the dry hollow voice called out, not giving even the smallest sign of being irritated

"No…" Judge responded, "but you will be… soon" Judge smiled and even in the gloom of the room, Cobra could see the depth of grim satisfaction in it, the spark of righteous retribution and punishment for crimes too grave to think of. Cobra knew it from himself. He'd often imagined standing before Crocodile and making him pay for the torment he'd inflicted upon his own kingdom.

But Judge was avenging his son, whom, truth be told, seemed the type that deserved to be attacked on a regular basis (same with the other sons he kept with him), and if the infiltrator had been honest about his treatment of Cosette, then even more so.

"If you're talking about the guardroom two levels down, or the one upon the level above, I've already cleared them"

Cobra could see Judge's jaw drop slowly, the realisation dawning upon him like a ton of bricks, demon shaped, flaming and explosive bricks.

"And as for putting myself in danger…" the voice trailed off, letting silence reign in the hall, until it was broken by snap and shortly thereafter, a fizzing sound.

"A Fuse!" Pell gasped, pulling his king backwards just as the rest of the royals fell over each other as they tried to get away.

They didn't make it before the bomb went off.

A titanic boom erupted from beyond the bend, echoing down the hallway, a gush of flame in a dozen colours of orange, yellow, red and purple, followed by a cloud of black and brown smoke the covered the ceiling within the hall.

The bend in the hallway was destroyed, pieces of rubble had crashed into the opposing wall covering the hall way in a fog of dust and smoke.

Less than half a minute passed thusly, the royals being too shocked and surprised to talk

Then, a small thing appeared in the fog, a floating piece of metal slowly making its way towards the assembled and rattled kings. It was the same size as the other bomb, but with one side bent outwards, making the explosive resemble a ripe pomegranate.

As the device dropped to the rubble strewn floor with an audible and loud " _clang"_ that echoed down the hall like a storms first thunderclap across the skies.

"You've had enough time to comprehend what has just happened, so I suggest you refrain from saying other stupid things until I'm done here" the voice spoke, unchanged, as if the destruction had had absolutely no effect on the speaker.

"You can't have much more bombs freak!" Yonji said as he began to jump forward. Next to him, his elder brother smiled, not doing anything to stop his sibling.

A large hand on his shoulder, stopped the youngest Germa Prince however.

"Hold, Prince Yonji" Neptune said, caution etched into his features (which, to cobra, was hard to see, the combination of fog, darkness and the Merfolk Kings' own humongous orange beard obscuring his face from people looking up at him) "This is obviously a man to be wary off" he said and pointed a titanic finger at the spent bomb on the floor.

Following the mermans' finger Cobra shivered as he realised the problem: the bomb was, just like the one thrown before, marked with a number, a #12 this time.

"What about it? It's used, it can't hurt anyone!"

"It's marked #12, the one before it was marked #8, do the math little brother" the germa princess piped in, her voice not void of admonishing, but not quite angry either.

"…So he has more eh, what a creep"

"What's more Elizabello, is this…" picking up the destroyed bomb, King Riku showed his colleagues the shattered explosive, one side only cracked, as if the explosion had had no effect at all on that area, only getting a little soot on it in a very recognisable pattern.

Cobra wasn't happy with what he saw, the parts of the bomb that were free of soot, clearly showed the contours of fingers and a big hand.

Then the voice spoke again, still as a stone and still unchanged,

except now it sounded like the speaker was bored

"If you're done looking at unremarkable destruction, I have demands that needs meeting…"

* * *

 **(On the seas, aboard the** _ **Long Ornate Thundering Threshershark IEEKKUSU (IX**_ **))**

"What are you talking about?" Vivi looked at the Pirate Captain in front of her with the ridiculously long name with a mixture of dread and confusion.

"What do you think you could get for us?"

The pirate captain smiled like a shark, his eyes shining with avarice and glee "Why I can get so much I don't even know where to begin…." Laughing deeply the captain spun around, his cloak flopping around like a thrown fishnet, the smile on his lips only growing wider and greedier.

"But…. The gold and the debt that your fathers' will owe us is going to be astronomical!"

"you won't get as much as you hope" at Viola's words, the pirate simply turned around, smiling as he went "and why not? Your fathers are kings, not paupers"

"You haven't kept up to date huh? Dressrosa is in ruins, all of our money is going towards rebuilding the country!"

"And?"

"Wha…. You don't mean that you'd…." Rebecca began, voice trembling, her eyes filling with tears

"I don't need that much gold… initially!" Laughing, the captain looked down his nose at the shackled women "I'll get all the gold I want eventually, but before that I'll need their support!" smiling even wider than before, allowing Vivi to almost count each of his yellow crooked and uneven teeth.

"And what, do you need our fathers' support for?" the words came out slowly, as Vivi tried to control the seething feeling of fear in her gut.

"Oh, my dear princess, nothing special…." The pirate began with feigned humility "A good word with the World Government"

"Wha…" the rest of the women looked at the captain with utmost confusion. The man had to be mad.

"With the support of several Kingdoms behind me…." The pirate began, all traces of humility gone with the wind "I, captain…." Vivi's eyes twitched as the captain, once again, began to spout his full name.

* * *

( **On the seas** )

Two lean ships were near, signalling them to turn around, turning to his second the man raised an eyebrow

"What is it?"

"They're babbling about lots of reefs and Seakings, nothing major captain"

Scratching his chin the captain looked at the ships in the gloom, odds were that they had more than 10 times their own number if they chose to fight

"What's our course cap? That camp we found before indicated that those princesses had fled in this direction"

"Which means that this could just be a huge smokescreen…."

Looking through his spyglass, the captain smiled as he saw a huge long bearded man walking about on one of the ships.

"Let's go ask, tell the others, full attack as soon as we're within range!"

* * *

( **In** _ **Germa Kingdom**_ )

"So what are your demands…."

"King Cobra, this is my country, I'm more fit to talk to this cretin" even if he didn't say it, the Germa King were also speaking of Cobra's condition, sick as he were. Pursing his lips the stricken king fell silent, allowing his colleague to have his childish way.

"besides, there's no reason to ask… this beast of a man is obviously here to try and finish the job of killing my precious son!"

"When you step on a turd, do you then stomp in it some more to remove it?" the dry voice shot back with supreme calm.

Judge and the other kings stood silent, processing the infiltrators' allegory for his assault on Prince Niji, each in their own way, which swiftly divided them in two camps, those that were hiding knowing smiles (and in Elizabello's case snickering) and those that were stunned and outraged, consisted of the Vinsmokes.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?" Judge howled, his fury making him take a step forward, his golden spear already brandished and ready for use.

"In short terms for your benefit, I likened your child to thrash and showed my disinterest in his measly little existence"

Judge shook with barely contained rage at the infiltrators words, turning ever more read with seething fury. If the hallway hadn't been gloomy, Cobra was certain that the Germa King, the man infamous for killing four kings in North blue and the supreme commander of the Germa 66, had achieved the same colour as a particularly overripe beetroot.

Despite the situation, the idea brought a smile to his lips.

"Then…" Princess Reiju began, and as soon as Cobra turned to her, it was clear to him that she shared his mirth at the situation "What is it you seek here, if I may be so bold to ask?" although the words were polite, Cobra could sense a hidden duplicity within them. Studying the pink-haired (and to his joy, also voluptuous) princess, he found that she had hidden den den mushi behind her back told him all he needed to know.

"Before that imbecilic blue haired fop interrupted me…. I was in the process of ordering food, bring the girl chef here and I'll finish my order"

For a moment, all the royals looked stunned at the ruined bend in the hall, then all jaws hit the floor with a huge thud.

Riku was the first to speak

"You…. You infiltrated a country…."

"….Attacked our army….." Reiju continued

"…Rumaged through the medical reports…." Pell mumbled

"…b-beat a prince to a p-pulp…" Neptune stammered

"JUST TO ORDER TAKE-AWAY!" laughed Elizabello, the cramps making him double over and chortle hysterically. Fortunately, no one seemed to notice, leaving the king of Prodence to control the fit of laughter that had overcome him.

"I do not order fastfood!" the voice said with a firmness that hadn't been there before, as if the person felt insulted "I dine in a civilised manner at all times!" the voice shot back, not being the least bit concerned about the kings' reaction.

"Now bring the girl, that Den den mushi the princess has should do the trick"

Again all in the hall were stunned, looking from the broken corner, to the surprised Reiju

"how…"

"Feigned politeness is a sure sign of duplicity little princess, now bring the girl, the soldiers that are coming for me can wait a little longer"

Cobra was shivering, whomever the infiltrator was, he obviously didn't care that he was being set up and was shocking them at every turn.

"Must be insane…" he mumbled to no one in particular

"No, I'm sane King Nefertari, just not always rational, it's a…. _family_ affliction I'm sad to say…" the voice responded, the emphasis on "family" made it clear that it wasn't a pleasant subject,as such Cobra immediately shut up,

afraid to give the man any more reason to be further infuriated.

* * *

 **(aboard the Long Long Pirates' flagship)**

Breathing a sigh of relief as the pirate finished his tediously long name, ending with the "Ib"

"So what'll you use our father's support for?"

Captain Long Long smiled with barely contained avarice, to them to everyone, but mostly to himself it seemed "Why…. There is more than one position available amongst the Shichibukai off course!"

"You…want to be one of the shichibukai?" Viola said slowly, before she cracked a smile "no one knows who you are!" her smiled died down instantaneously when the captain drew his sabre amd put it's tip to her throat

"No one knew who Buggy the Clown was and he's a shichibukai now, raking in all the money" he laughed

"When I heard that, I thought, why not me? WHY NOT US?!" spreading his arms wide, the crew erupted in cheers.

"and that's just the tip of the Iceberg!" he roared "With these!" he gestured to Marguerite and Rindo "I'll parlay with the Pirate Empress, BOA HANCOCK herself, the most beautiful woman on the earth, to be my wife!"

Again the crew erupted in cheers.

"You're insane"

The crew fell silent, just as they were about to break out the rum to celebrate someone had the nerve to rain on their parade. All their attention went to Marguerite.

"There's no way her highness would ever consider having anything to do with you!" she said with disdain.

"Why would any of our fathers support another Shichibukai? We've all suffered under those monsters yoke!" Viola cursed.

"Hey!"

"Watch your tone, a princess is of less rank than an empress"

Vivi gulped at either of the Kuja's words, the subjects of the pirate Empress seemingly didn't shy back from admonishing others, even in the midst of a crisis.

"Jinbe-sama is not a monster!" Shirahoshi piped in, straining against the chains, trying to break loose, but to no avail.

Suddenly all of the chains were pulled and in the next moment the women landed on the deck, hard. It was made worse when Shirahoshi's massive size made the deck bounce and wobble, which meant that the women landed once more.

"No more of your interruptions!" the captain roared, his beard brisling and eyes bloodshot.

"This is a time for celebrations, not some small scuffles about who's a monster, celebrations! Party! BOOZE! Not battle of fighting!"

Suddenly, one of the crew came running out of the crowd, his face pulled into a fearful grimace

"Captain Long Long, Captain Long…."

"Nypers, tell Morkin and Balong that they can join us in celebrating our triumph!" the captain responded, not noting his underlings facial expression, nor the shrillness of his voice as he screamed in panic

"CAPTAIN! BALONG IS UNDER ATTACK!"

* * *

 **(in** _ **Germa Kingdom**_ **)**

"Did you get all that girl?"

"Y-yes I think so" Cosette stammered, part out of nervousness from being so close to all of the Kings, and part from being close to the person who'd beaten Niji to a pulp in front of her

"Go over them then" the voice said, Cobra could at this point only assume that the infiltrator was impatient, but somehow, managed not to not let I be heard in their voice.

"For an appetizer: _butterfried mushrooms with fresh parsley_ "

"Fish course: _fighting fish caviar_ … t-that one will be a bit hard to find sir"

"The dressrosan King can be of use with that"

"O-okay.." Cosette stammered before she went on, part nervous and part… something Cobra was surprised to see in the girl: Excitement.

"Soup Course: _Vierno Oil Soup_ , Oh dear that's a good one" She gushed, clearly looking forward to serving it "but it'll take months to make!"

"No one said that you were to make it now, just keep it ready for next time I drop by"

Behind Cosette and next top Cobra, Judge was starting to seethe even more, the soldiers had yet to show up and… do something, Cobra assumed, since the royals didn't dare to attack the infiltrator (and evidently also gourmand!) what hope did the soldiers have of defeating him?

"And the main course: Sirloin of Meteor Ibex, rare to medium and if that is not possible, Tartare of Bananawani with tomatoes, and either dish with accompanying vegetables and sauce of my own choice" she finished, hugging the chart and list to her chest, visibly overjoyed.

"I felt generous" the voice simply responded.

On his end, Cobra was beginning to feel hungry from hearing of all that food talk.

"And the Cheese course: _Island Whale Milk Cheese_ , aged for 8 and a half years, the milk coming from a 45 year old cow"

On Cobra's right, some of the Kings were beginning to move from side to side, some, like The king of prudence, looked visibly uncomfortable at not doing anything at all.

"And finally, the dessert!" the chef stepped nervously from side to side as she read her notes, making the rest of the kings more than a little agitated

"Four Laired Black Chocolate Cake, each layer from one of the four blues, with deep black, double brewed coffee on the side" **:D!**

Somewhere in the darkness a stomach began to growl, loudly.

Cobra knew it wasn't him, though he felt in a similarly. In the corner of his eye he was vaguely aware of King Riku and Elizabello nudging each other with an elbow, after which the sound began to die down

"And what wine will you be having to your meal?"

"You can pick the wines, but for the Main…" the voice trailed off, and the sound of glass moving over the floor filled the hall. A moment later Cobra could see an empty bottle roll towards Cosette, making little screeches as it went.

Picking the bottle up the chef tried to read the description before the voice spoke again "I'll require the wine that is a year older than that"

"This a 28 year old Painoian! We have three bottles of 29 year old in the wine cellar!"

"You only have one now" the voice said bluntly

Next to Cobra, there was a loud clang as Judge lost hold of his spear, letting the polearm land on the floor.

The wielder of the weapon, stood, mouth agape, eyes as wild as if he was about to be hit by a tornado

" _You raided MY winecellar_!" the Germa king howled, his voice growing shrill from the outrage that was brewing within him

"I sampled some of your wines" the voice corrected "And for your information, I'm certain quite a few of them are fake"

"You sampled 2 bottles worth 89 million beli a piece!?"

"Sampled one, took one" the voice responded, much to the rage of Judge whom at this point was shaking with fury.

"And if there's nothing else, I have no more to do here, good bye"

"Wha…wait!" Judge started, only to be interrupted, by the flying body of one of his soldiers, and a big one, without a head, ramming into the opposing wall. As soon as Cosette saw it, she ran off screaming, almost dropping her notes.

"Your soldiers tried to sneak up on me when I was about to order the wine, it took my focus off a little"

Looking at the decapitated man, Cobra had no doubts that it had been fast and surprisingly merciful, the man probably didn't have time to feel pain.

That didn't stop the assembled kings from feeling fear however, it had struck all the kings quite silent, not one of them dared speak or move a muscle.

"Hmm… I half expected that you'd ask me to help your search for you girls, a wise choice to refrain from such" the voice cooed.

It was strange, in Cobra's ears it sounded like the voice was teasing them.

"If you can…" the King of Alabasta began "…would you?" finished Neptune, either one having an edge of worry in their voices.

"No need to" the voice responded calmly "Your mutual connection will find them soon enough, of that I'm certain"

Cobra raised an eyebrow at this, his fear subjugated by his curiosity. He wasn't the only one

"What mutual connection?"

"That's an obvious answer King of Dressrosa" the voice continued, the tone still unchanged "If you don't believe some worthless marine smokescreen and are smart enough to listen to any pirates escaping those pathetic _New Fishman_ Pirates"

The voice fell silent again, and nothing could be heard from the hall.

After perhaps half a minute, Pell left Cobra's side, taking a lamb from of the Vinsmoke princes, he walked nervously to the corner that had been destroyed in the previous explosion.

Turning the corner, he looked over the scene that had been left. Eventually the rest of the kings joined him, Neptune being kind enough to carry Cobra's wheelchair.

The sight that met them was to be expected, a scene of massacre, slain soldiers, debris and rubble littered the floor, blood splattered on the walls. Horrifying as the scene were, it was nothing compared to the fact that the infiltrator had managed to conduct it in the deepest of silence.

"What in the…."

All eyes turned to Reiju, the lamb light showing her looking down into the broken bomb from before, specifically something within.

As she picked it out, the royals were surprised to see that it was a Den den mushi, unremarkable and without any unique characteristic.

"So he's going to contact us at some point huh?" Riku said, his voice trembled a little

"Yes it seems so…" Cobra didn't know who said it, it might have been him,

but he knew,

that all of the other kings felt the same,

and that,

somwhere deep within them,

they secretly dreaded it.

* * *

( **On** _ **Runny Rum Archiepelago**_ )

This whole situation was not what she'd expected when Amande had invited her for a tour in the newly refurbished and expanded Smugglers wing of the Pirates Museum.

They'd gone before, but the new exposition of _Coyle the Fruit Merchants_ ' logbook and his notes on Devil-fruits had been too good to pass up, but most of the new pages that had been put up for the public had been charred, burnt and submerged so long that the ink on the pages had become completely muddled. _Such a shame, all that knowledge, lost to time._

What was even worse, was that they now had to hide behind a nearby statue of the smuggler himself, a big gaudy thing that offended either of the two Charlotte daughters' sense of aesthetics or their sense of proper economics, all that gold, gems and jewels could be better used in Tottoland, rebuilding Whole Cake Chateau after what the Strawhats and the Firetank crews had wrought. She wasn't sure how, but it was their fault somehow.

Just like this was somehow their fault too, that she and her big sister had to wander about, finding new allies for their crew, in the most filth ridden (but wonderfully sunny and filled with losers more than willing to pay her ever expanding bartap) cesspit in the New World.

Which led her to their current predicament.

They'd chosen to Hide from the vice admiral that had the authority over the Archiepelago, and the Marine base further up the mountain, as soon as she'd shown up. The very much beloved Vice Admiral Gion, whom the locals kept saying should have been promoted to full-fledged admiral, but also that they were happy all the same, as it meant that they could keep her, at least until the marines came to their senses and promoted her.

Why the woman were in the museum was a bit of a mystery, but she'd brought company. Half a dozen guards, and two other women, one of whom were in chains.

They'd simply marched in and the Vice admiral had taken up position infront of the glass cabinet containing the logbook and notes, scanning over the destroyed pages.

The Charlotte sisters were close enough for Galette to hear what was being said, albeit slightly muffled.

"Can you do it?"

"…Possibly" the woman in chains responded, her blue-haired head turning to look at the pages in front of her "But it'll take time with all those pages and I can't be sure of the results"

Scrathing her chin, the vice admiral was silent for a moment "If you can only turn back time of something, man or object, 12 years per touch, all of these pages could prove useless, unless…."

"What seems to be the problem and what is your solution Vice admiral?" the other woman questioned, her short curly spiked purple hair barely shifting as she tilted her head.

"These notes are approximately 25 years old, around the time Vice Admiral Hoodie defeated that monster…" she trailed off, a hand brushing the glass, right on the spot where one of the notes hung, charred and impossible to read.

"So my prisoners' ability is useless in deciphering those scribbles" the purple haired woman concluded with a shrug.

"Perhaps not, Rear Admiral Malta…" Gion responded, not turning back, but only starring intently at the notes in the cabinet "Captains Redcliff and Jolland will be here soon, I told them to pick up Commodore Durkey on the way… with his abilities we'll be sure to put yours to good use" turning around, the young vice admiral smiled reassuringly at the prisoner "And that will make the judges go much easier on you Ain-san!"

The prisoner stood a little straighter at this, a marine helping one of their own prisoners were unheard of for Galette, but this whole scene was getting very intriguing.

Rear Admiral Malta scoffed

"Durkey…. I'd much rather be off this island"

Clearing her throat, Gion looked at her subordinate "True, he's not the easiest person to be around…"

"He's a sexist pig." Malta said bluntly, Galette didn't need to see her expression to know she was sneering "...and Redcliff is a maniacal fanatic, while Jolland is a fat slob, we're more fit to do this task without them!"

"More fit? True, that's why we're outranking them and not the other way around" moving to leave, Gion addressed Malta again "As to their individual flaws, those can be tolerated or worked around, but let it rest for now, if this works, it'll aid the marines for years to come"

As the Vice Admiral looked at the statue of the Fruit Merchant, Galette and Amande were sure to hide behind it more thoroughly "All attempts to make _Coyles' echo_ talk has failed, it remains unresponsive… but with Ain here" Gion looked proudly at their prisoner, a smile playing on her face "We'll finally crack his secrets wide open, no need too consult the remains of that villain!"

As the Marines left, Galette smiled to her elder sibling " _Aid the marines for years to come_ ….." she quoted teasingly "…or Mama in a weeks time?"

Though her sister smiled back, her words bore a hint of warning "But they also said that there's going to be more marines on the archipelago, and soon!"

"A slob, a fanatic and a pig, we'll get our own pig tomorrow, and an idiot to deal with the others while we steal both notes and that prisoner"

"I see, you hope to use her abilities on some of our own crew"

"Only those that need it, imagine some of our people getting to be in their prime again? Streussen, Zucotto, Tamago… " Galette trailed off, counting in her head how many old people the Big mom pirates employed (too many perhaps).

"First we need to get the girl, and better wait until the notes have been restored too, and the former is bound to be under heavy protection" Amande cautioned

"Yeah, but we're not without allies of our own on this island Big Sister" Galette reassured Amande "Several infamous pirate crews are willing to join the Big Mom Pirates, and they're here right now, former subordinates of Whitebeard and survivors of the Battle of Marineford no less"

Removing herself from their hiding spot, Galette stood up and made ready to leave

"Come on, let's call Smoothie and tell her what's happened, I'm sure it'll delight her to hear what we've found out!"

* * *

( **on the seas, not far from Germa Kingdom** )

"You really haven't figured it out yet have you?" the man spoke into the den den mushi, eliciting angry outburst from the Kings on the receiving end. Which could practically be summarized with: "What do you mean" excluding all the expletives, curse words and other foul language.

"You people really need another hint?"

"Just give us the answer already!" another angry voice howled into the snail, the telltale sound of splintering wood followed by polite silence, indicating what else the speaker was doing.

"Pfff" the man scoffed, unamused at the King of Prodence's little tantrum, to him it was as about as stimulating as a conversation with his…. _Blast,_ _he almost acknowledged that little imbecile!_

Taking a deep breath, he buried his anger at the thought he'd just had and kept his mind fixed on what he was doing.

"I'll give you the answer… as soon as I think you've realised it yourself" pausing for the inevitable backlash of angry curses, the man took the time to look at the documents he'd copied from Germa's labs "Your mutual connection, is someone, whom you've all become indebted to, in the past, or recently"

Pausing again, the man was almost surprised to find that the royals were silent this time around, smiling he continued "One of you, have a daughter that briefly sailed in their ship, one of you have fought alongside them directly, one was briefly imprisoned by them before being freed by them again, one of you owes their kingdoms freedom to them and yet another have a son on their ship now"

Silence. The hints didnt exactly make it a riddle, but then again, he reasoned: without his perspective and intel, it would be hard to piece all that together. Not surprisingly the kings knew not what to make of his intel. As expected they weren't people to share that they had frinedly connections to a notorious pirate crew.

"What the hell are you on about?"

"What, I am on about, King of Dressrosa, is that you owe your countries' freedom to them, one of Germa's princes are their chef, the king of Prodence fought alongside them when that fop Doflamindgo was defeated, King Neptune was imprisoned by them within his own castle and Alabasta's little princess sailed on their ship, is it beginning to make sense to you now?" he finished, ignoring the angry outburst from the king of Germa that followed the revelation of his third son's position.

"You mean…"

"Yes king Neptune, I'm talking about the Strawhat pirates" the man interjected, not even managing to finish before the outbursts rang out again, but not angry this time around more shocked and in some cases even happy and celebratory. The kings had clearly held back in front of each other and were happy to be able too speak more freely. _It was_ _Perfect!_

"But…" a voice cut through the happy laughs and joyous voices

"Yes King Nefertari?"

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because that imbecile to Strawhat is excetionally lucky!" he responded bitterly and a little annoyed, "Eventually, that idiot spawn of a natural disaster will encounter everyone on the seas, so why not your daughters?" the man finished and ended the call, not in the mood for any more banter or babbling from their foolish mouthes.

Instead he picked up the other den den mushi next to him and spoke to another mouthy fool.

"Did you get all that?"

"Loud and clear boss-chan" the voice of Judge Vinsmoke responded

"And you are sure you can mimic their voices to perfection? Their staccato, patterns and infantile mood swings?"

"Yes" the man at the other end said in the voice of Neptune, before continuing in the voice of King Riku "I'm perfectly sure!" And ending with the voice of King Elizabello "Boss-chan!"

"Excellent, I'll call when I've decided what to use this for"

"Uh! Uh! Boss-chan, I haven't heard if Bertram is doing ok?" the voice changed again, becoming overjoyed and excited, the real voice of the speaker.

"...Bertram is improving" the man eventually confided, being rather pleased with the newest addition to his organisation "He's finally learned the propper way to sit at the dinner table and eat with knife, fork and spoon, his shooting lessons are picking up speed as well"

"...Boss-chan..." the voice began, unsure of how to proceed "That's not what most people teach their dogs"

"That explains why so many of them need a leash when on a walk" he resonded, anger

"...If you say so Boss-chan..."

"Now, if you have no other questions, I have a quarry to track down and preferably before that idiot is captured by the CP0"

"No sir"

"Excellent"

 _Click_

* * *

 **(On the Long Long Pirates' flagship** )

"Well, tell Morkin to help him, We're celebrating here!" the captain dismissed Nypers again, turning to have one of his other crewmembers who had a filled mug for him. Nypers wasn't finished though.

"Morkin's ship has been attackek and is already sinking captain!"

"WHAT?!"

"They were attacked two minutes ago and their ship is taking in water, it went so fast Morkin doesn't even know what happened!"'

The smile had died on the captains' lips, the rest of his crew looked equally shocked at the news.

"Perhaps it's that boss those other pirates talked about"

The pirate captain's head whirled around with an audible snap, eyes wild and confused

"What boss?" Viola eyed the darkhaired Kuja with mix of surprise and suspicion.

"Yes, what boss" the pirates echoed the question, almost in unison

"We heard from other pirates that their boss was coming up from the south" Vivi admitted "We didn't want to worry the rest of you", she deeply hoped they'd never see through her lie, the last thing the group needed now was to have a fall out.

"What do you know if this...boss?" the captain, an edge of nervousness in his voice, but as it often were, there was anger aswell, waiting to burst forth like water from a geyser.

"Not much..." Vivi tried to think up a lie, knowing some one amongst their number knew them mysterious boss, but afraid to speak too much about it, lest she made it look like she betrayed the group "only that the pirates feared him, was afraid he'd be known for getting us and not themselves" at least that part was true, the Beautiful pirates was by far the most spotlight seeking group (or at least their captain was) she'd ever met "They said he always destroyed everything when he showed up!" She waasn't lying this time around, or at least she thought so, she couldn't remember everything that the crazy narcicist had said, but her words seemed to work like she'd hoped: the pirates had gotten jittery, looking at eachother, sweat slowly running down their faces, jaws were tenched and men swallowed nervously.

"Destroyed everthing!" the captain laughed nervously, trying to dissuade his own fears "No one is that..."

the captain was interrupted by the flying remains of one of his own ships, hurtling through the air and crashing into the ship on their right side, shattering part of the deck and spreading wounded crewmembers and splintered masts into the sea.

Shattered lambs on the ship, were destroyed, broken on the deck and soon the ship that had been struck, ignited with small scatterd fires.

"WHAT THE?!" the captain began, his whole form trembling at the sight of the destruction that had just been wrought, and so near himself! If he'd cared about anything but himself, he'd have noticed that his crew and prisoners were struck by fear aswell.

from the wreckage of the fallen ship, a number of crew members began to scramble, crawl and jump off the ruin of a vessel, one of whom was sambling towards the railing, waving frantically at his comrades on the flagship. In the rising moonlight, that bathed part of the waves in a sheet of silvery White, only obstructed by a few clouds over head, it looked almost beautiful.

To Vivi the small form looked like a monkey version of the captain, same long beard, but with a pair of Googles on his head

"MORKIN!" the captain howled, all thoughts of controlling his fear forgotten "WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?"

"THEY JUST CAME OUT OF THE DARKNESS CAPTAIN!" tripping, the monkey fell hard onto the ships' railing, nearly knocking himself out, but he still tried to get up "I'm sorry captain" he managed to cry out, dread smeared across his face like make-up on an opera singer.

"WHAT HAPPENNED? HOW MANY? WHO?"

"we thought we'd get a Little more to celebrate capn... we were at least 20 to 1, but one just did this, like it was nothing!" he pointed a thumb to the destruction behind him.

"...And the other ship?" the captain stammered

"another of them sunk it with a slash"

"A SLASH?!" the whole crew erupted in disbelief, not believing what they'd just heard, not wanting to.

Vivi shook slightly as the fact hit her like a shovel to the temple, it seemed so unreal. She'd seen a man reform his head after she'd thrown her weapon at it, seen that Pell had survived a bomb that should have destroyed a country and seen Luffy and Zoro survive grivious wounds, but this was in a Whole other League than what she was used to.

A moment later she heard another noise, a ringing noise... a den den mushi!

looking in the direction of the sound, she realised it was the pirates' that was ringing, the crew man from before, Naiburse-or-whatever, was in the process of answereing it.

"What is it Balong? We've got a Little situation on our hands here!"

"Balong? was that the Guys' name?" a rough voice said, one which Vivi felt was vaguely familiar... then she remembered!

It was that other pirate that had stopped the slavers from catching them earlier that day!

Behind her Shirahoshi quivered, silently whimpering " _It's the horned demon captain_!" to herself in despair, but loud enough for their captors, and the other prisoners, to hear.

"What the hell have you done with my subordinate?" the pirate captain growled, partly from fury and fear.

"beaten him..." the voice provoked, goading the captain into a fight "but before that, he did say something about you having the missing princesses..."

" **THOSE GIRLS ARE MY PRISONERS SCUMBAG**!

"Too bad, I'd have left you and you crew alive for the Mermaid, and for the others; well I guess we wouldn't have taken all your gold... but now it seems we need to use force!" the voice cracked in laughter before the snail went _click._

The pirate captain looked like he wanted to curl up and cry himself to sleep. Being attacked on two front by two different Groups could do that to most people Vivi reasoned, either which seemed absolutely barbaric. But one of them she knew, and she'd almost rather face the _boss_ , than them at this point.

Then, suddnely, a huge pillar erupted from the Water between the stricken ship and the flagship, violently pushing them apart and making all lights swing adding to the Chaos of pirates and prisoners trying to find their footing on the rocking ship.

"What the..." she managed to stammer, before she saw a form in the darkness, coming towards them across the waves from behind the bridge.

From what she could gather, it was a smakker ship then the one they were on, but also much faster! and closing the distance rapidly.

"Pre-prepare the cannons! FIRE AT WILL!" Vivi concluded that she wasn't the only onw to notice the approaching Vessel, the captain having found his balance, and didn't want to Waste a second more in fear.

The other ship didn't Waste their time either, a single cannoshot rang out, the projectile hitting the flagship ringht in the side, but not doing any damage at all.

"HAHA! they don't pack engouh punch to harm the _**Long Ornate Thunde...**_ " the captain began to gloat, but Vivi saw that it was premature, as a large wine began to grow up the side ofr the ship, followed by another and another, the large plant beginning to cover the ships' side completely.

"Whaaaa?" was all the captain had time to say, before the Vessel rammed into the flagships' side and handfull of shapes boarded the larger craft.

One of them, obscured by the darkness, drew a blade, and with a slash parted most of the bridge off, sending the structure tumbling into the waves.

On the deck, the pirate crew did a collective shiver, and took a step back from the approaching foes.

Behind the swordsman, Vivi could barely makeout a woman with a staff, seemingly ordering two other shapes, one tall and thin and another that was bulky, to do something, but the crash and creak of Wood being destroyed and the splash of Water from the front of the ship made it impossible for her to discern it.

Turning towards the bow, Vivi tried to see what had caused the splash from before.

All she saw were pirates, that moments before had tried to distance themselves from the boaders, flying to all sides, landing on the deck, bruised and battered as if the were sandbags.

"NAARCIE DEAL WITH THAT GUY!" the captain howled sending a lanky crewmember with a monstrously lonig sword running towards the bow with a smile on his lips.

He joined his comrades on the deck, his smile replaced by the imprint of a large fist.

the captains' response was to cringe and shiver, an emotion that was shared by his entire crew.

slowly, they all backed away from the terrible figure that slowly, as meticulous and unstoppable as the tide, strode forward, each step making the crew, and the prisoners, tremble and almost skip a beat.

the way the lambs still swung and cast their flickering light on the deck, made it impossible to see any detail of the figure, all Vivi could note, was that it was huge! easily taller than the pirate captain (even his hair!) and much wider, yet unlike the captain, the attackers girth was no doubt made out of muscle.

Vivi shivered at the sight of the man, even more so when he stopped moving, his head turned directly towards her and the other women on the deck. She half expected the the man would sink the ship or howl demands with the voice of a demon, instead it was another sound that drew her attention.

not to mention another direction.

From where the bridge had been, another slicing sound erupted and a shockwave went across the deck, cutting clean through it and the side of the ship as easily as someone would cut a pie!

Afterwards Vivi didn't know whose scream was the loudest, her own, that of the other women or the pirate captains'!

All she knew, was that this the boarders weren't done with them.

Not by a longshot!

* * *

 **End of chapter 9**

Welcome new readers/followers and those who've favorited my little tale since last time. Thank you.

Fyi: Next chapter will be a short one I think. I need to pick up the pace regarding this story as I won't have as much time come autumn.

 **Threads**

Strawhat pirates: are closing in on the princesses, after waaaaaay to long searching the seas.

The princesses: despite being in deep trouble, finally seems to have some light at the end of the tunnel.

The Royals: survives their run-in with the unknown factor, only getting a little

The unknown factor: has successfully infiltrated Germa Kingdom and is creating bloody havoc. Man is a living proof of how dangerous the New World is.

The Marines: A callback to previous chapters with Redcliff, Jolland and Durkey, and introducing Malta the rear admiral as well as Gion who's recently appeared in the manga propper. They're trying to figure out some old secrets.

The Big mom Pirates: Is eavesdropping on the Marines' plans and making some of their very own.

The princess hunters: Some may recognise the Long Long Pirates from movie 13 ( wiki/One_Piece_Film:_Gold ). Another group of hunters resurface from previous chapters, still trying to get Shirahoshi for their own ends.

RnR If you'd be so kind.


	10. Chapter 10: Finally

**Blood binds like Iron chains chapter 10**

 **Finally!**

* * *

 **(on the _Long Long Pirate's flagship_ )**

Up on the bridge the swordsman looked like he was ready to take another swing, but as he was drawing back his left arm for a downward slash, the woman with the staff landed a blow to the back of his head.

Even above the sound of the waves clashing against the ship or the whimpering of the pirate crew on the deck, Vivi could hear th

"CUT IT OUT! WE'RE HERE TO GET THEM, NOT KILL THEM!" to Vivi, the voice sounded strangely familiar, like one she hadn't heard in years...

"YOU WANT THEM?" the captain howled in fear "THEY'RE YOURS! WE **SURRENDER**!" the captain yelled as loud as he could, brandishing his long beard as some sort of makeshift white flag waving it left and right, while his crew quickly followed suit, throwing down their weapons on the deck and raising their arms high above their heads.

On the bridge Vivi could see the woman with the staff jump into their, cheering loudly, while the swordsmans' amr trembled, making it look like he was going to slash at them again. Somehow Vivi both were and wasn't worried at the same time, but she didn't know why.

finally the boarders stepped into the light, unsurprisingly it was the swordsman first, a long katana blade held in his outstretched arm, still trembling in rage at being denied the chance to cut and slash at will.

Vivi's fear, however, completely vanished when she saw the green dressed figure step fully into the light.

His chest was bare, brandishing a huge scar from a previous battle, and anothe newer one marked his stonelike face, But Vivi could recognise that green hair anywhere!

Roronao Zoro, swordsman of the Strawhat pirates and one of Vivi's old traveling companions.

as soon as she saw him, VIvi knew who the woman from before were, and as soon as the orange haired navigator stepped into the ligth she could see her smiling back at her with an affection she'd missed for two long years.

Two horrible, adventureless years.

But looking at Nami, made the wait all worth it.

Vivi noted however, that she wasn't the only one Nami was looking at.

Turning her head towards the bow, Vivi could see whom it was that had assaulted the ship alone.

As soon as he appeared in the light, she recognised him, even those that lived under a rock knew who Jinbe was, the great Knight of the sea and a former Shichibukai worth a staggering 440 million Beli.

Vivi watched him nervously, not because of him being a fishman or that she didn't know him, but a shichibukai, former or current, weren't really her favourite people.

"Jinbe-osama!" A happy voice chimed out and Vivi was surprised to see that it was Shirahoshi that had spoken. She shouldn't have been, it was common knowledge that Jinbe had the ears of many a ruler along the grand line, both of countries and of ships.

And he wasn't the only new crewmeber of the strawhats that Vivi would be introduced to, as a hatch on the deck was opened and two figures ascended from the storage. Vivi had seen their posters, but the sight of the two new additions to the strawhat crew were both quite bizarre.

The lanky _Soul king Brook_ was literally a skeleton with an afro thick as a hedgerow, while the other one, the _Iron Shogun Franky_ was, even with his arms full of barrels and crates, clunky looking, like a dozen boxes was being worn on the arms. What really caught her attention was the blue hair in the shape of a fox (that was giving everyone a thumbs-up).

"Did you guys get it all?"

"They didn't have much Nami, practically no treasure and I couldn't carry anymore food!" the bluehaired giant responded "Most of it got busted when _**someone**_ slashed the deck up!"

Zoro simply shrugged the criticism off, only looking disappointed he didn't get to cut more.

Meanwhile the walking skeleton was walking towards the womens' group, much to Vivi's discomfort, the sight of that odd man giving her all the wrong associations. The meatless man ended his walk a few feet frm her, where he bowed deeply.

"Brook, Don't you dare ask your usual question!" Nami warned as she walked towards the women at a brisk pace, what drove most, Vivi didn't know, anger or worry.

"Ok, I won't" the skeleton replied overhis shoulder, his bony gaze being firmly fixed upon the chained women "because I can already see their panties! Yohohohohoho!" the skeleton chortled as Vivi grew red as a beet, an act mirrored by the other women.

In the corners of her mind, Vivi damned the pirates for ripping their clothes, sick perverts!

Right now, it appeared that she was in the company of another one, one she knew was with her friends no less…. Vivi knew then that it would be a very long trip.

The sound of an outraged scream made her head spin towards the sliced side of the ship, where the Strawhats' ship had come to rest. Upon a grass covered deck, Vivi could see a shape that was coming towards the ship she was on.

When it landed, she was both perplexed and happy to see that it was in fact Luffy, the captain of the strawhat pirates, holding a squirming Sanji wrapped in chains in his arms.

The bound chef looked at the similarly chained women with a amorous look in his eye, which immediately switched places with one of outrage when turned to the Long Long Pirates, several of which were smart, but not fast, enough to hide their souvenirs behind their backs.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING TO ALL THESE BEAUIFUL WOMEN-CHANS?" His face had taken on the properties of an erupting volcano, looking a bit like a rabid dog that had would break its leash at any given moment.

"WE SURRENDER!" the captain howled in response, still waving a tuft of his long beard like crazy, hoping that it would save him from the insane people that had boarded his ship (and destroyed most of it).

"We heard you before" the large fishman responded, his stonelike face looking like that of a gargoyle in the lamplight, a fact which didn't help the Long Long Pirates' spirits in the least

"WHAAAAT?" Luffy's loud pitched voice rang out across the deck like a foghorn, shock and disappointment evident in his face, which went from that, to furious. Even when several of the shackled women called out to him happily (despite Vivi not understanding why Rebecca said " _Lucy-san_ ") he looked angry.

"What ya mean _surrender?_ We ain't gonna fight?" he whined, his face dropping like wax on a lit caddle

"No Luffy, we're not going to fight" Nami chastised him "JInbe-chan and Zoro already took care of them"

"But they're still standing!"

"Don't whine about this Luffy! This is good! We don't' need to do anything"

"But that's boring Namiiii!"

"What's more important, that we save our friends or you having an adventure?"

"Oh, they're here too, neat!"

While Luffy waved at their little group, seemingly not giving much thought to them being in chains, referring to them by name (weak-hoshi was a bit of a surprise though), Nami looked like she was contemplating whether it was worth smashing her staff over his head or just tie him up with his own arms.

Vivi couldn't control her own mouth "You all know him?"

A happy number of confirmations from all of the women later, Vivi looked at the Strawhat captain again, smiling as she went "You've been busy haven't you?"

"Not really! We kinda just meet people" Luffy laughed at her before he continued "And then we helo them with something"

Vivi got the distinct feeling that the something he talked about revolved about him beating it up to his hearts' desire (and get horribly wounded in the process, not to mention the state of the rest of his crew).

Speaking of which, Vivi was beside herself with joy to see that they were all ok, healthy as horses, Nami looking stunning even when annoyed by her crews' antics. Zoro not bothering to show anything other than his stoic expression. Over at their new ship, she could see a small potbellied shape that was jumping up and down waving in her direction, next to another, taller and more feminine form that was mimicking Choppers behaviour. Up on the bridge Vivi could vaguely see a woman behind the wheel with another form that moved like around as if they were trying too hide. While not her favourite person, Vivi assumed that it was a good thing Nico Robin was well too, though it dampened her happiness at seeing Usopp a little. As long as he was still shaking and trying to hide, but hadn't hidden yet, then everything was good, at least for the moment.

Which left the last of the members she had befriended:

Sanji was looking at them weird again, spouting kind and somewhat creepy little compliments about how beautiful they all looked (even in their torn clothes, or perhaps especially because of it).

Viola was especially taken by the words it seemed, smiling at him and greeting him with a smile and a "Sanji-kun" which seemed to make the chef melt and go wobbly in his chains.

"Why is Sanji-san…" she began, hoping for an explanation

"It was the only way to make him stay still and not ruin the plan" Zoro responded, a cocky smile playing on his lips "My idea, he's been completely uncontrollable the last few days trying to save your hides"

"Stupid mosshead!" Sanji protested, before he turned to plead with his captain "Let me go Luffy! Shirahoshi-chan, Vivi-chan, Viola-chan and the other women-chans are still in chains!"

At this, Franky dropped the crates with a crash and stepped forward "I can fix that in a jiffy, I'm especially super with chains this week", as he finished, one of the shipwrights hands flipped over, revealing a jet of flame that lit up his face in a rainbow of flickering colours.

Naturally Vivi shied away, same with the other women.

"Franky, You're scaring them, haven't they been through enough?"

"But Nami, I can slice through the chains faster than you can open those locks!"

"If it's slicing, you can't compete with me"

"Don't you dare touch them Mosshead!"

All of their bickering fell silent at the sound of metal cracking and shattering

Looking over her shoulder, Vivi was a bit surprised to see that it was the two Kuja that had broken their bonds.

"Could you do that all the time?"

"No" Rindo simply responded with a deadpan expression

"We needed time and a diversion" Marguerite chimed in happily "Else those men would have prevented it!"

When the pair moved to free her, Vivi gratefully accepted. As the kuja turned to the others, Vivi herself turned to Nami and hugged her, crying happily at being reunited with her old friends.

Remembering something important, Vivi withdrew

"What's wrong?"

"We gotta go Nami, there's another group coming this way!"

"More pirates?"

"I don't know, but they've been hounding us all day long!"

"They strong?" Luffy inquired with an interested look on his face.

"Very strawhat-san, they defeated a group of slavers that we encountered, and they had fighting fish to help them?" Viola's cautioning words should have frightened him, but Luffy's face lit up like a Christmas tree.

"Let's go fight 'em then!" he declared, much to his crews' (or at least the not-bloodthirsty members of it) dismay "Nami, set the course! We can still get to have a little fun!" he smiled, dropping a still struggling Sanji on the broken deck, while the rubberman rubbed his hands together in anticipation.

Nami stared dumbfound at her captain "You can't be serious?"

"Of course he's serious, and why shouldn't we fight a little?" Zoro smiled confidently "We might as well get a little fun to celebrate this _victory_ " the last word, the swordsman said in a tone so bitter it gave Vivi the chills.

"Can we put this to a vote?" Nami said with a cocked eyebrow "All in favour of getting our friends…. And others…." she added with a brief look at the Kuja pirates "Safely away from here with no more fighting"

Most of the crew members present raised their hands, leaving only Luffy and Zoro, both with their arms crossed, looking dejected, before the captain and swordsman both grinned

"It's ok!" Luffy began, his smile broadening considerably

"We can deal with this ourselves!" Zoro finished, much to the other crewmembers' disappointment.

"We can help too" Marguerite volunteered, pointing to herself and Rindo, whom didn't seem to care about what she did.

Sighing heavily Jinbe stepped forward "Luffy-kun, I'm sorry but that would be a bad idea aswell"

"Why?"

Ignoring the whiny tone, and perhaps expecting it, the huge fishman continued "Because these women are all obviously tired and in need of food and safety, going off to battle will only delay that, besides, most of our meal got scrambled during Sanji-sans last…. _episode_ "

Vivi looked expectantly at Luffy, hoping he'd see reason

"Right…." the captain finally caved in,

and,

much to Sanji's chagrin and jealousy,

Luffy's pouting seemed to instantly endear him to all the women that had been saved.

* * *

 **(On the seas)**

This had been fun!

He had loved figthing that overgrown gorilla of a man, and his crew always benefitted from some nice excersice.

That they'd heard the whereabouts of the missing princeses, was just icing on the cake!

To think he'ds almost given up when they lost them on that archiepelago!

Now he had a course, and soon he'd have the Mermaid princess,

and her father would give him exactly what he wanted!

Not that the other women wouldn't be a bonus,

but he hadn't decided what the reward for those would be,

not yet at least.

"Guess I'll know that when I get them..." he mused excitedly, rubbing his hands in anticipation of how powerful his crew would be in the near future.

so far, the treasures they'd taken from their opponents would keep his mens' avarice in check.

To think that their rivals would carry around the main part of thier treasures, and food, on the first ship he encountered had been a nice surprice.

If their luck continued, then they'd have those women in custody before dawn broke,

no matter whom was guarding them!

* * *

( **shortly thereafter, on _the Long Long Pirates' flagship_** )

After the pirate captain had seen them leave, then he'd made sure that at least they hadn't lost all of their treasure (and food).

"ok men, salvage what you can, and get this ship moving!"

"Ay-ay captain"

"Get all the men up from the Water and let's get a move on! What can't be saved we'll leave, and be quick about it! There's still that other crew that attacked Balong, and we're in no condition to fight right now!"

Seeing his crew get to Work as fast as they could, made the captain believe that they could make it in time.

He doubted that his crew would blame him for surrendering to the Strawhats,

but they all knew of their reputation and had seen what they did the first time they'd met.

All Things considered, and compared to their actions at Dressrosa, then his crew had gotten off easy!

Even if they'd lost most of the money they'd pillaged.

* * *

 **(On the _Sunny_ , at the same time)**

Nami toasted Again, happy that their hunt was over.

She hadn't doubted that they'd find them, at least after Sanji's visions had been proven right, before that she'd been terribly worried for their lives.

But now that they'd found them, some different problems and questions would be arising soon:

1\. How and where and when to get them back to their families? It was not an option for them to keep travelling with the crew, they had planned to meet up with Law at Wano country soon, and she couldn't make herself let their Allies Down, even if it was a pirate alliance and some party was going to betray the other at some point. Besides, involving them in their battle with Kaido, and the other Yonko is Luffy got his way, was downright irresponsible.

2\. How were they going to accomodate them all, while they sailed with them? Franky had been putting up an extra bed in the girls room for Carrot, but now they had 6 extra women on board. And Shirahoshi couldn't get in through any of the doors, so she would be forced to sleep out on the deck. And given her timid nature, someone had to join her for company (just in case, Nami had voluntered Chopper). And Nami hadn't even considered food yet! Her crew, as much as she loved them, ate like a small army of gluttons on a normal day (Luffy was more than a little guilty in this), and now with 6 extra mouthes... Nami could almost sense the coins running through her fingers like water from a spring.

Making sure their ruined clothes were displaced wasn't as big a problem as it appeared, for now they'd just taken the spare sails from the Long Long pirates, which meant that all their guests were now dressed in Toga style, which had led to the rest of the crew adorn themselves in similar garb. But Nami knew, deep down, that she was going to sacrifice most of her wardrope for their new travelling companions. And then sacrifice more money to get them some propper clothing next time they docked, and then hope, that whatever port they'd found had a well stocked clothing store.

3\. How were they going to get along on the trip? While the Strawhats were usually quite charming, several problems arose with this many new people on board, and they had already begun as soon as they'd stepped foot on the ship. The Specific episode she was thinking of, had been when a very Excited and happy Carrot hade performed the traditional Garchu with all their new travelling companions. That wouldn't have been a big problem, if she hadn't started with Shirahoshi. Suddnely feeling warms fuzzyness on ones face, that was particularly alive, spouting " _Garchu_ " at the top of their lungs would freak out most people, a humongous scaredycat especially. A fearful swipe at her huge tail had nearly shattered the mast, and would have, if Jinbe hadn't stopped it in time.

On the same note, Nami had already had a falling out with the Princess Viola over whether or not to release Sanji from his chains. Nami had lost that argument (though not for lack of trying, Luffy had just freed Sanji from his bonds " _Parties are best when everyones celebrating_!"(she had to agree with him there)) alowing the amourous chef to try and _garchu_ every new woman on board.

4\. Protecting their new passengers from other pirates. The Long Long crew had been easy to deal with, but they'd also met slavers (whom, to Jinbe's disgust, was some one he knew from the days of Fisher Tiger) and another crew that had been hounding them for a while. Whomever they were, Nami felt, their tenacity taken into account, that she'd get to meet them soon enough. Hopefully it'd go similarly to their encounter with the other crew, but she doubted it.

Then there were the marines. They were on the lookout too, and Nami didn't doubt that they'd inevitably run into them when they reached Runny Rum Archiepelago. But if Jinbe were right about the former subordinates of Whitebeard, then they at least wouldn't be facing them alone. It still made her uneasy though.

But after she'd drunk Franky, the blonde Kuja Marguerite and _God_ Usopp (as both Viola and Rebecca called him repeatedly, much to the longnosed cannoneers' pride and delight) under the table, Nami couldn't help but look forward to the trip that lay before her, She'd get to know all of these new characters, even if they'd be in more trouble than usually!

* * *

 **end of chapter 10**

I did promise it'd be a short one this time around. Which explains why it only took me two days to finish.

The next few chapters will hopefully be short aswell, since that means I get to update faster and cover more of the story I've got planned.

Buckle up, because it'll soon be time for this here story to get serious and really live up to the summary!

 **threads:**

the princesses and the Strawhats have finally found eachother, but there's going to be some stormy clouds on the horizon!

the princess hunters: the Long Long Pirates have, faced with the full might of the Strawhats and an attack on another front, wisely given up.

The other hunting party is still active though! And they're not giving up fort the life of them.

RnR if You'd be so kind


	11. Chapter 11: New Normal

**Blood ties like Iron Binds**

 **New normal – getting along with crowding!**

* * *

 **(On the sunny** )

Nami yawned and stretched before she leaned backwards on the grassy deck of the Thousand Sunny.

Damn, she had fun last night!

Then she remembered where she'd fallen asleep, right on top of Shirahoshi, specifically in her voluminous pink hair.

If she'd fallen asleep anywhere else on the mermaid princess, she was sure the perverts on her crew (Brook, Sanji and Usopp (even if he hid it better than the others)), would have had festival at the sight, especially since the princess' toga had come undone and vast amounts of her figure was bare to the world.

Fortunately for her, Sanji was out cold aswell, having fallen asleep, siimlarly to Nami, in the arms of one of their new travelling companions; Viola.

Which meant that Nami had ample opportunity to help her friend get a little covered up before the rest of the party guests woke up. While she definetly doubted that they'd do anything perverted, they watch a bit too much and get more than a little randy from it. Then there was the inevitable Kyaaaah, (which, with Shirahoshi's lungs would be performed with a deafening volume) and that would wake everyone up, and given how much they'd drunk the night before, the vast majority of them would have a splitting headache!

If Nami had ever been seriously affected by alcohol, she'd be jealous of Rebecca and Shirahoshi. The first had been prevented (or rather forbidden) by her aunt from drinking, while the latter had simply declined and stuck to cola for the night (which had swiftly depleted their already limited stores (Nami couldn't help but giggle at the face Franky would make when the cyborg heard it)).

Getting a firm grip on the sailcloth the Mermaid was covered in, Nami pulled, hoping to hide a little of her young friends' body from prying eyes.

All she managed was to get Shirahoshi to stir in her sleep, reach out a hand, and grap her around the waist.

getting a bear hug first thing in the morning wasn't a bad start of the day, and technically,Nami had accomplished her objective, but being trapped and pressed to the chest of one of her friends who was mumbling about " _Nami-sama is so soft_ " wasn't exactly desirable, at least not when one of her friends could wake up at any moment.

Othervise, being envelloped by a cover of warm, kind affection, was in itself wonderful, if a bit allencompasing.

Warmth + sleepy + no way of escape = falling asleep. And sure as can be, Nami soon yawned and began to loose consciousness, despite her best efforts.

"I don't mean to pry, but..."

As soon as she heard the words, Nami's eyes sprung open as if a cannon had been fired. Whipping her head around, she swiftly located the speaker, unsurprisingly, it was one of their new guests: Viola.

"You don't seem to have much luck with that one, or did you plan on getting trapped?"

Looking at the older woman, Nami coudn't help but notice where she'd slept, still resting her head on Sanji's shoulder (the chef had fallen asleep and was lying on his back, his own head proopped against the remains of a bread from their feast last night). Next to Viola, her niece Rebecca sat propped up against a cola barrel. The intimacy of the situation wasn't lost on Nami, nor was it on Viola, both of whom blushed a little, but not for the same reasons. **  
**

"You wouldn't give me a hand would you?" Nami tried after a short while, hoping a disarming smile would make the princess help her out

"Then I'd have to move..." Viola pursed her lips, eyes hhalfopen, looking like she was almost about to go back to sleep.

" _Please_ help me?" Nami tried again, the smile she had from before, slowly beginning to disappear as her annoyance grew.

"I'd still have to move..." the teasing continued, and now the princess had both her eyes closed with a coy smile on her lips. Nami couldn't hear it, but she could see the tell tale sign of a rising chest that the Dressrosan princess had sighed in contentment.

Nami pursed her lips, starting to have a hard time controlling her anger "I'll tell you what..." she started slowly, making Viola lazily open one of her eyes, and Nami's expresion making the other one snap open in attention, a joyless smile playing on the navigators' lips "As soon as Sanji wakes up, the sight of this..." she tilted her head in effect towards the dozing mermaid "Will make him jump so high that you'll end up in the sea..." she paused for effect, having guessed the surprised retort that was already on Viola's tongue.

"Sanji won't be the one to rescue you, He'll have been turned to stone before you hit the water" Nami wasn't cruel enough to actually wake up the chef and subject the princess to it, but Viola of course, wasn't aware of that.

The princess looked at her in surprise "Turned to stone?" she repeated with an air of disbelief "Really?"

Before Nami could answer, Viola had turned around towards Sanji, one hand raised to her face, looking through a hoop formed by her index finger and thumb.

"Oh, I guess you're right in that department..." the princess said eventually before looking at Nami, whom had gotten a surprised look on her own face, _oh yeah... devilfruit user, better not tease about that getting her dumped intoo water..._

As soon as she'd thougth it, Nami realised that Viola was loking at her, and reading her thougths!

"Why thank you for the concern, but I think Rebecca would save me before I even came over the water" the princess responded with a confident smile

" _Hey!_ "

"What? I'm not allowed to know who sails on this ship, bearing not only me, but my precious niece?" Viola motioned to the pink haired exgladiator at her side And others..." she continued, casting a sideways glance at Sanji, and to an extent, the others that had been there to save Dressrosa.

"It's still more than a bit invasive!" Nami argued, still outraged at having her thoughts read like an open book

"It's still perfectly justified from my standing point"

"You mean you lying point..." Nami corrected her calmly, not in the mood for a lengthy debate of right and wrong, but perfectly fine with a bit of condescending for the time being "You could also say from your position, but that'd be a bit too vague under the current circumstances"

"What are you implying?" the princess asked, a tone of anger rising at the back of her voice

Again Viola looked through her fingerhoop at Nami, much to her displeasure.

"Oh..." for a moment the former assasin looked relieved "It's not something like that in this case... yet" she smiled as Nami Blushed slightly

"Not a shy are you?" the navigator eventually said a drop of sweat running down her slightly red forehead.

"Not particularly, but I'm from Dressrosa, and the girls from my kingdom have a reputation that is partially well earned" the woman smiled mysteriously at Nami, before looking at her through the finger hoop again "Let's see what else you're hinking, I think it's faster than talking a hundred hours, especially since you're gooing to do that with your old friends here" she motioned to Vivi and Shirahoshi "and these _two new faces_ " she motioned to the sleeping Kuja, the joyful Marguerite and the more stoice Rindo.

Nami started to protest when she suddenly felt a hand grip her toga and pull at it.

The navigator only just managed to blurt out a surprised and sligthly protesting "What the...?", before she, with the sound of her toga getting ripped to shreds, was pulled out of Shirahoshi's warm embrace and dropped on the deck.

After finding her balance, Nami looked around to find uot whom had helped her, not surprisingly, it was her captain, grinning from ear to ear.

"Great party last night eh, Nami?" was all he said

Sighing a little, Nami reasoned that at least she was out of her cage, but not pleased with her toga being torn, leaving her to try and cover herself up a little "That's the first thing you say? Not something normal like: _Good morning_?"

"It's almost Noon, Nami-san"

turning her head, Nami was, despite that she really shouldn't be, surprised to see that jinbe was up and about, taking careful steps to avoid disturbing any of the sleeping forms that lay on the deck. She also noted, to her satisfaction, that he retained eye contact, and didn't let his eyes wander over her lack of clothing, like some men would.

"Most of the Morning has already passed?"

"YES!" Luffy's serious tone took her aback, but not for long, as she knew him all too well, so looking at a surpriced Viola, the navigator smirked at what was to follow in a moments' time.

Luffy took a deepbreath before roaring, as high as he possibly could:

"SANNNNJIIIIIII! FOOOOOOOOOOOD!"

Needless to say, Nami did get to see Viola fly that morning, but not very far, and definetly not landing in the ocean, instead it was Usopp, much to the snipers shocked discomfort, that cushioned her fall, landing directly upon his chest., leaving the man gasping for breath.

The chef, at getting adressed in the usual manner, didn't waste much time finding out whom had snuggled next to him a mere moment before, instead he moved like a zombie towards his domain, the kitchen, to make sure that his captain wouldn't howl so loud that hed' go deaf.

Luffy in turn didn't waste time following him, and, when the chef realised that there were an aabundance of other women than Nami, Robin and Carrot on board, the captain made sure to push him into the kitchen, despite his very outraged protests (which only grew once he saw that nami's toga had been ripped, showing off much of her figure).

Nami smiled, happy to, not only be out of a pickle, both a physical and a mental one, but because Viola seemed to have forgotten to read her mind further, instead looking disappointingly after Sanji, as he was forced and ordered into the kitchen by Luffy.

"MAKE FOOD!"

"But I wan't to talk to the women-chans!"

"FOOOD! BREAKFAST **AND** DINNER!"

"Women-chans!"

" **BRINNER!**!"

Nami's smile broadened, happy that somethigns never changed on board the Thousand Sunny, even if it was Luffy's foolish commands which mainly revolved around getting in danger and ordering more food (typically right after he'd been served his second and third portion).

Nami then felt a chill as the wind blew past her, entering through the torn sailcloth toga and caressing the bare skin beneath.

Naturally Nami quickly decided that she needed to change and swiftly made herself scarce, hoping her spped beat that of any prying eyes.

* * *

 **(On Runny Rum Archiepelago)**

Galette yawned deeply.

it had gotten late last night.

Not from parting like she had done for the past week, which had been a blessing for her mind to be honest (even with Amande's scolding and the hangovers taken into account), but because the call she'd made to Smoothie had been so ungodly long.

Explaining all they'd learnt from spying on the marines had drawn out in the infinite, explaining the same thing to two dozen of her siblings had lost its' charm exceedingly fast, especially because people kept arriving in the middle of her explanation. While you'd think the others could fill the newly arrived in on it, but it turned out, that less than half had payd attention, which led Galette to having to explain it all over again about 7-9 times.

She'd been wise enough to omit what else she'd been doing the last few days, other than recruit some former underligns of Whitebeard (which included one of her brothers' clinically insane, feline-happy and strangely jovial cousin). Somehow being on an epic binge and flirtfest didn't seem liek what Mama would like to hear, thinking back at her hangovers, Galette didn't want to remember them herself.

Looking down at the ship as it waas docking in the secluded harbour, Galette wanted, almost more than anything, that she was having the mother of all hangovers, while explaining her more obnoxious and concentration-challenged siblings the story, all over again.

The reason was simple enough: They'd gotten reinforcements.

While Galette and Amande had been on the archiepelago, it had been just the two of them, and enough money to live confortably in a highend, but not high luxury, hotel. That had a number of advantages:

1\. It had allowed them both to indulge in some fun of their own.

2\. Two people could move around without drawing too much attention to themselves, which, when there was a large marinebase on the very island they were on, might be a pretty good idea.

But now, those days were over.

Now the pair of them had company, and what company!

Watching them walk down the plank and step foot on the pier.

the homie, the idiot and the sexist.

"Do we really need them?"

"...Yes Galette..." Amande responded, her voice tired "Sister Smoothie thought it'd be a good idea to have some protection, and since we're about to steal from the marines here, I won't be surprised if there's more than first anticipated"

Sighing deeply, Galette pinched the bridge of her nose, before mentally, and visually, going over the pro's and cons of their newly arrived aides.

Kato wasn't a big problem per ce, he was obedient and his physique made him a very versatile homie, but his head made him stand out, even in tottoland a talking pumpkin would draw some stares afterall, so he'd stick out like a sorethumb regardless of his rather diminuitive size. The cloak and the oversized sword wasn't helping either.

Durum... oh where to begin with him? Something as rare as a cousin of one of her siblings (Specificallly the quintouplet brothers, the fifth through the 9th son of the family, Opera, Counter, Cadenza, Cabaletta and Gala) that had been allowed to join the crew. Durum was as strong as one of them, but hadn't half the intellect of even a particularly dumb sheep. Big as a bull, built like a gorilla and twice as savage, the gaptoothed simpleton would only cause trouble for their mission. No doubt Smoothie had just wanted to get rid of him herself. Somehow, his less desirable traits made him well liked by his cousins.

And then there was Dacquise... _oh where to begin with that one?_

First of all, he was of the same species as Galettes' father (not that she knew how he looked or who he was), one of the Devil tribe, a longlived and nocturnal tribe of humaniods with a dread reputation. They pretty much made of the vast majority of the Impel down staff (specifically the leaders of the hell hole), even a former member of the shichibukai, Moriah Gekko, had been a member, before his dsappearance. Devilish features were normal amongst them, Galette herself had a pair of horns, while Dacquise had a pair of wings. It was the only thing that actually made him stand out, even with the combination of his dreadlocks and the tuxedo, he could be ignored in a crowd.

What couldn't be ignored, was his _amourous_ personality. Most would be able to, but most people were fortunate enough not to be _his type_ , which seemed to be Galette and her twinsister Poire. An admirer wasn't a bad thing per ce, but when it got to the stalking level of Dacquise, it became downright creepy. FOr months at a time, he'd pursue the pair, and not just for a date, but outright marriage.

 _I must be strong, just gotta endure his company until this mission is over_ Galette kept reminding herself, but as soon as the creep saw her, he smiled like a predator, mouthing an almost audible " _babycakes_ ".

 _I suppose an accident could happen..._ Galette thought, being silently happy that Dacquise was violently pushed aside by the oncomming form of her younger brother Brownie, looking as angry as Mama when she didn't get her way immediatly, or when her snacks were late. _  
_

"Ok, We're here, now what?" he asked in his whiny little annoying voice, while picking his nose.

"What do you mean _now what_? Aren't you going back to Tottoland?" Galette looked at her younger sibling with confusion. Behind her, Amande cleared her throat "I assume that sister Smoothie decided that we were better off with more reinforcements?"

"Pretty much" Brownie finished picking his nose with a smile "And I ain't happy about it either, means I have to wait until you're done and act as a pack mule for whatever it was you were gonna steal"

"What luck we didn't bring a ship ourselves..." Galette grumbled sarcastically, which unfortunately was lost on her fool of a sibling

"Not good enough, Mama wants us to bring all the candy we can fill in the hold, and one ship ain't even enough for breakfast nowadays"

"So Mama's gotten better? That's good"

"Sure is Amande-neesan, Galette-neesan" their fat brother beamed with a smile, his previous displeasure seemingly forgotten.

"But you canøt stay in the harbour, the whole island is being searched by the marines regularly"

"Sister Smoothie already thought about that Galette-neesan" Brownie responded, his annoyance returning with a vengeance "If the two of you don't need me, then my orders are to set out to sea as soon as possible and try not to get caught or attack another pirate crew!"

Letting her little brother go on about how unfair it was that he wasn't allowed to do a little raiding while he was here, but Smoothie's logic was sound, the less suspecion they aroused, the better their chances of suceeding with their new mission.

However, as Dacquise began to walk next to her, his hand occasionally brushing against hers, Galette knew it was only a matter of time before she had some sort of very public meltdown.

 _I hope you get hurt you insufferable weirdo_ was all she thought as their small group began to make their way to one of the many seedy bars and taverns that lined the harbour area.

* * *

( **on the sunny** )

Nami hadn't had a dinner like that in a while.

That is, an overcrowded kitchen, where most of the crew had sat on the floor, lending up their seats for their new guests (others had been pushed/showed off their chairs by Sanji in his quest trying to sit next to all the women at once, Nami and Robin included, much to the formers' chagrin) and subsequently sending food out to Shirahoshi whom, for obvious reasons, couldn't enter the kitchen, crcing her to converse with the others through an open door, her face filling the entirity of the entrance. Come too think of it, even Jinbe and Franky (after his transformation) had trouble entering at times, so did Luffy when exiting after he'd eaten to his hearts desire (the record so far was 29 double servings, not that they had that much food everyday, or Sanji wanting to cook that much). The closest she'd been to anything like it, had been the feast after they'd gotten out of Tottoland with the Sun Pirates, the Firetank crew and the giant warriors, or, as she was repeatedly told by Usopp upon reuniting with them, _the sixth division of the Strawhat Grand fleet_.

It hadn't helped that, to Nami, it appeared that they hadn't that much food left (only two servings, even for the captain).

Another problem was that they continued to have a housing problem, specifically space.

More than three times Nami'd have to squeeze her way through a throng of women, and Sanji, just to get to the food at the table (asking for food to be passed around at the table was considered illadvised around Luffy, it had gotten tp the point were it was consider bad luck as well, lest you wanted to have your hand bitten).

"I think we need to adress the elephant in the room"

"There's an elephant here?" Luffy looked happily around, stretching his neck all over the place, much to their guests' amaze- and entertainment. Despite the giggles and laughter (and the pinching by both of the Kuja (Sanji, Usopp and Brook had turned very jealous at that)) Luffy had looked behind backs and in cabinets, trying to find the animal "Where is it? I'm still hungry!"

" _The elephant_ that Nami-san is speaking of, Luffy-kun, isn't really an animal, but more of a pressing matter that has to be adressed" Turning To Jinbe Nami was pleased to see his positive influence on her captain, if it continued, Luffy might even be less crazy in the future.

"Is that a problem?"

"Yes, it's a problem"

"Well what is it?"

With a sigh Nami began to explain "We've saved our friends as we set out to do, but there's few practical issues that comes wiht it"

holding up some fingers to illustrate her points, Nami began to summarize

"1. As you yourself noted, we don't have that much food"

Almost immediatly Sanji's hand shot up faster than a lightningbolt "I can eat less! So can Luffy! And we can always throw mosshead off the ship! And Jinbe can fish for us!"

"What was that, ya crappy chef?"

Sanji ignored the swordsmen however "Brook's made of bone, he doesn't need to eat!"

"That's right!" The musician chimed in with a laugh, never missing a chance top joke with his _condition_ "We must all make sacrifices Nami!" Nami could almost hear the ancient pirate say _everything for their panties_ beneath his breath. Meanwhile, Zoro had gotten up from his seat on the floor, giving the chef a dirty look as he opened began to repeat his question from before "What was that, ya crappy chef?"

"Shut it Mosshead! I'm trying to do the right thing here! We've only just gotten the women-chans on the ship, we can atleast let them stay for a while no?"

"You're trying to pick a fight is what you are doing"

"Enough!" both chef and swordsman fell silent (Brook too), looking directly at Jinbe, the former shichibukai giving both a stern look, even when he was sitting on the floor, he towered over both

"2. We dont' have infinite amounts of Space on the sunny, let alone a place for everyone to sleep"

After giving Sanji the chance to babble _the Guys can sleep on the deck!_ Nami continued unabated

"3. Each of our guests here" she motioned to the assembled women, all of whom were watching her with a bit of unease, some with displeasure "have friends and Family that's going to be worried out of their minds for their safety..."

taking Deep breath Nami looked seriously at Luffy, a harder task than it should be since she was inwardly cracking up at seeing his neck still retracting like a bungeecord "It'd be cruel against their families and friends to keep them apart much longer, besides..."

The Words seemingly sunk into even Luffy's thick head, the rest of the crew, and their guests sitting in an attentive silence, waiting for Nami to continue, the navigator had been a bit suprised that there was no interruptions this time around, hurried to finish her argument

"...We are still on our way to Wano, and we can't drag people we care about needlessly into our battles, can we?"

Silence still reigned, most of the crew Deep in thought, even Brook and Sanji didn't make a sound, as although neither wanted to part with theri guests, and especially so soon, they didn't want them to get hurt either.

"But we can stay here for a while right?"

Looking at Vivi, Nami couldn't help but smile "Untill we find some way to get you to your families, that's not the issue, just space, food and..." she gave the assembled women a quicklook, all still clad in their toga's from the previous night "..clothes, obviously"

"Couldn't we just borrow some of yours for the time being?"

"Sure, but... we are nine women onboard, Rebecca-san, with new clothes each day for all of us... Well..." Nami scratched her head in embarasment, even with heer voluminous wardrope it'd be a stretch on day 3 "And that's just one issue, there's still the chance of some of your pursuers will pop up"

"The horned captain!" Shirahoshi squeaked from outside the kitchen, her face trembling at the memory of their brief encounter

"Like that one, yes" Nami agreed "or perhaps others that are still out there"

"Like that boss we heard about on that Pirate ship" Rindo said, puffing on a cigarette, most gracefully provided by Sanji's stock, much to the chefs' joy.

"Yeah" Vivi shivered "Any one that could make that oddball obey isn't someone I'd want to meet"

"What pirate crew?"

"We saw a ship a few days ago and decided to investigate, perhaps steal some food" Vivi said, directed, not only at Nami, but at the rest of the crew "The pirates kept talking about some boss that was comming and the captain seemed afraid of him, he had a stack of wanted posters of you Luffy, all cut into confetti!"

"Who was this person?" Vivi tured to Robin as soon as the archeologist had spoken, her eyes showing more than a fair share of distrust "Did you see their flag? Hear their crews' name?"

"We..." Vivi hesitated, seeminlgy trying to remember that name, but Nami couldn't help but notice something else in her tone and mannerism.

"They called themselves the _Beautiful pirates_ , one of them was called the beheader, a large man that didn't want to wear the pirate crews uniform, the captain was very fond of his... pet"

"Why haven't you said that beforehand?" Looking at Viola, Nami noted that the older woman was genuinly angry "I know their captain, he had a part in saving Dressrosa!"

"That captain also said that his _boss_ always ruined everything!" the kuja puffed on her cigarette, before continuing "What are you doing?"

Viola, on her end, had once again formed a ring with her thumb and indexfinger and waas looking through it, directly at Rindo, with an expression that soon turned to anger "You knew that their boss knew some of us and didn't tell us! You didn't even tell us half of what happened on that ship!"

"How'd you..." Rindo and Vivi looked at Viola in surprice, before the darkhaired Kuja's eyes grew narrow "You're some sort of _sorceress_ aren't you?"

"That's _**not**_ the word you're thinking about" Viola sneered as she rose from her seat, anger radiating so intensely from her face that it could have set things too close ablaze "You ignorant little backwater Bi..."

She didn't get to say any more, as a dozen hands exploded out of the chairs and table, binding the two women before they could strike at one another, and the other women at the table aswell (Marguerite was already getting up to support her sister-in-arms, same with Rebecca to aid her aunt), and for good measure Sanji too, before he could put himself inbetween their fists. Several hands across their mouthes ensured that they wouldn't protest too loudly.

"That's enough I think"

Nami looked at Robin, more than a little relieved that her friend had decided to stop the brewing confrontation. Most at the table had their own responses however, Viola looking at Robin with anger in her eyes, while Rindo watched her attentively, treating the situation more like a study seesion than a confrontation.

Marguerite kept glancing left and right, from the hands that were holding her firmly in place, to the Strawhat archeologist, awe shinning from her eyes.

Vivi's eyes still shone with unease, never quite leaving Robin, still sitting on her chair, arms folded in her signature stance. Nami couldn't help but fel a bit uneasy at the implications.

Sanji was the only one that looked happy, to him all the arms were problably like a hug from Robin, a thought that brought him a lot of joy.

"While I understand that you have reason to bee angry for not being told everything that's happened" Robin continued, looking from Rindo to Viola "But given the circumstances, it's not hard to understand why you weren't told"

Robin stopped to allow her words to sink in.

To Nami's relief, it seemed to work, the two would-be-combatants calming down enough for Robin to begin to release her grips a little.

"Hmm, it is a coincidence though.." Robin began with an overbearing smile "That you'd run into Cavendishs' crew"

Most of the table looked confused at her, until Luffy smiled "Oh, Cabbage! How was he doing?"

"You know him Luffy?"

"Sure Vivi, met him in Dressflower... erh... Pressflower..."

"What Luffy means to say, is that Cavendish, and by extention his crew, is an ally of ours" Robin explained calmly

"Oh yeah, he's one of the division leaders right?" Nami still hadn't fully memorized all their new subordinate crews, having met Hajrudin had been overwhelmig enough in and of itself "First or the Second?"

"First Division Nami" Usopp piped in from the floor. Nami noted that he'd sought refuge from the prevented cat-fight behind an amused Franky.

"First division of what, and how many are there?"

Robin chuckled goodheartedly, which did nothing to answer Vivi's question, leaving someone else to explain.

That someone turned out to be Usopp, which he did with a proud smile.

"The Strawhat Grand Fleet! _MY_ followers!"

"Wouldn't they be called the _Long Nose Pirate Fleet_ then?"

"Usopp's just lying Rindo-san, they're Luffy's followers, not his" Nami noted that Usopps' head fell at being caught red handed, _or it was the name of his alledged fleet?_

"You have to admit, _a boss that always ruin things for his subordinates,_ sounds like Luffy in a nutshell"

"That just means that we would have been saved almost immediatly if you'd just been open in the first place!" Nami sighed, Viola had seemingly found her legs again, glaring at the Kuja accusingly

"You didn't say you were a _sorceress_ either"

Nami pinched the bridge of her nose almost unable to listen to anymore of this "Just to clarify, 1: It's not sorcery, it's a devil fruit!

2: both of you kept things from the group, how about just let bygones be bygones and get along while you're here!"

"I agree with Nami-scwann!" Sanji piped up, happpiness shinning out of his eyes, though a harsh glare from Nami made him shiver in fear "I agree with Nami-sama" the chef tried again "Viola-chan and Rindo-chan should hug and get along!"

Naturally the two women didn't comply to the chefs' suggestion, but, conversely they seemed to take Nami's words to mind.

"So if we can keep from killing eachother for a few days, we need to find some way to contact you guys' fathers and set up a meeting"

Vivi beamed at her old friend "That part won't be a problem at all"

When Nami looked confused at her, the Alabasta Princess explained her reasoning.

* * *

 **(On _Runny Rum Archiepelago_ )**

After entering one of the seaside taverns called the _Blushing Mermaid_ ,the small group of Big Mom pirates began to share information on the other groups that had beeen sent on missions. After each had taken in the looks of the establishment.

The tavern itself was nothing special, and not at alll what the crew was used to, no tables made of cake, chairs of pasta or talking cutlery, only plain wooden planks on barrels for tables and a bar that was just as basic. The only thing that made the place stand out was the vast assortment of wanted posters that filled the wall, all of them of female criminals and pirates, a fact which made it appear less like a den for bounty hunters and more liek an establishment for lecherous old men. Galette was pleased to see that neither hers nor Amande's bounties were up there, but a little peeved to see the Strawhats' _Cat burglars_ '. It had angered her more than it should, to have some of their army's forces on Tottoland defeated by some little pirate with a bounty of a measly 66 million. Right next to the Orangehaired pest was the wanted poster of _Whitey bay_ , displaying a more impressive 440 million bounty, which made Galette a little selfconscious about her own (ranging at a mere 190 million), but she took pride in the fact that the _Ice Witch_ 's was still less than Sister Smoothies' at 932 million (whom, unsurprisingly, was posted on the wall in a spot of honour no less), or Amandes', at 490.

There were other piratesses' posters aswell, the only female member of the worst genereation, _Jewelry Bonnie_ , was a natural, so was _the pirate empress Boa Hancock_ , even if it was dated and she most likely didn't look like that anymore. Others, like that of some smuggler from long ago, _Gila_ -or-whatever was more surprising. What made Galette turn her head was when she found her younger sister _Lola_ 's poster, the one sister that had fled an amazing marriagepact (at least in terms of what it would bring Mama of power). The redhead didn't know what made her more angry at seeing the runaways' poster, the fact that she was still alive after her betrayal, or that she had only accumulated a mere 78 million bounty after years of sailing around, and, given her epithet ( _M_ a _rriage Proposal Lola_ ), had tried to find a husband of her own, and failed miserably.

Pushing the thoughts aside, Galette sat down on a rickety chair. Not far from her, much to her chagrin, Dacquise sat, no doubt in her mind eyeing her behind his sunglasses.

"So how is brother Daifuku and Pekoms doing?" Amande inquired as soon as she'd gotten her millwheel sized hat off, shaking a few strands of curly blue hair away from her face.

"Not good is what I heard" Brownie responded with his mouth halffull of... whatever it had been that the tavern served of dishes, the bufoon not waiting for any of his comrades to either see, or grasp, the food, before he showelled it into his awaiting mouth. At the back of her mind, Galette pondered if it had been chicken, it'd fit his mindset quite well.

"What do you mean?" Galette looked annoyed at Brownie, while also leaning a little away from her younger brother, fearing that some of his meal would bombard her when he responded.

"Well, they found their target..." as Brownie stopped to scratch his overlarge chin, Galette could feel a vein in her forehead start to throb, it didn't help that she'd been right about the foodscrap barrage.

"If I remember correctly, sister Smoothie assigned them to find the _Yonta Maria Grand fleet_ "

"Exactly sister Amande, exactly..."

"So what happened?"

"well you see..." Brownie paused for a moment to swallow, and wave at the waitress to order more food "yeah I'd like annother serving of whatever that was I just ate, but better tasting, and some cakes too, and beer, and a..."

"Brownie, focus!" as her younger brother noticed the vein in Galette's forehead, the rotund man gulped and answered as fast ass he could

"That Orlombus guy said no"

"What? NO?! to Mama?"

Holding up a his hands to shield himself from Galette's anger, Brownie shivered "I heard that he was part of some Strawhat thingy! I don't know anymore!"Silence descended on the table, as both member fo the nuclear family and assorted underlings took in the news.

"So, Orlumbus is one of Strawhats' men... that complicates things..." Galette said slowly

"Not at all" Amande said camly, lighting a cigarette, as she took the first few puffs, her comrades waited in anticipation. Finally the third daughter of the CHarlotte family decided to continue "If we know who's in their little fleet, then we can cripple them with ease!"

"But those numbers are a problem" Dacquises' head rose, an annoyed note present in his tone "We'd have to send out a fleet to deal with them"

"Don't be ridiculous!" Galette turned to the winged man, who almost instantly began to smile disturbingly at her "Brother Daifuku must surely have destroyed him already"

"They got into a scrap alright, but Orlumbus cannons saved 'im" Brownie sneered, before turning his head to the waitress from before, a grin spreading on his face, only to turn back into a sneer faster than Big Mom could eat a cake "Hey! Where's my 8 triple burgers?"

"You didn't order any master Brownie" Kato's voice cut in, slicing through Brownie's tirade at the poor waitress "Mistress Galette interrupted you to get back on the topic"

"Well I...'m ordering some now" the rotund man crossed his arms, tapping his foot impatiently on the floor, only stopping when the waitress had put down the small mountain of food and, very swiftly, left for the rest of his orders.

Galette was almost relieved when she heard Amande sigh "So, back to the topic, I recall reading about Bobbin's target ebign left for dead somewhere"

"Don't know about that one, gotta ask Sister Smoothie about it"

Feeling somethign brush up against her leg, Galette cringed, drawing back and starring angrily at Dacquise, who rested his head on his hand, smiling coyly at her.

"OI! Din't ya 'ear?" Deise ordrd a Smoothy! Durum halfshouted at the waitress, who was still waiting for the burgers, behind the brute's back. To Galette's amazement, the meathead was starring straight ahead into a wanted poster of Jewelry Bonnie that hung on the wall.

"Oi! din't ya 'ear? A sayd..." the man shouted through his gapttoothed mouth, producing a whistleling sound that could be mistake for the Puffing Tom in the first half of the _Grand Line_.

Looking at Durum, Galette had a hard time understanding how his mind worked, if it did at all. He'd just taken what he'd heard, and somehow understood it as an order to be yelled at the waitress, whom had somehow become a poster on the wall...

pinching the bridge of her nose, hearing the tell tale signs fo Durum getting up and cracking his knuckles as he strode towards the poster, she vowed that if possible, she had two people she'd get rid of over the course of their mission.

Hopefully one of the others could stop the buffoon from challenging the poster to a fistfight and brought more unnecessary attention on their party.

* * *

 **(On the _Sunny_ )**

Nami leaned back in her chair and chuckled as Vivi finished her explanation.

 _this was all too perfect!_

"So we call this elder Nyon" she chuckled "And then just set up a meeting with your fathers' and then that's it! Great!"

"So we won't be having all these Women-chans for long" Sanji sniffled, his face close to tearing up

"We couldn't have them for long anyway! We're on our way to Wano, remember?"

Sanji's face fell even firhter at Nami's words, the only solace he could take from the situation was that Nami att least hadn't sneered at him this time around.

"Now now Sanji-san it's not so bad..." Brook appeared behind the chef and patted him on the back "It could be days before a transfer could take place"

At the words of his fellow pervert, Sanji's face lit up like a christmass tree, not that Viola's hand petting his was ineffectual.

"So how about we just use the time we have and make the most of it" the skeleton snickered, leaving no doubt in Nami's mind that he intended to ask to see their panties on an hourly basis (or in return for playing some of his better numbers in his violin).

"If it only takes a few days, then it shouldn't make that big a deal" Franky added, smiling confidently at his comrades and the guests "Wano and Kaido ain't going anywhere anyway"

If they could manage it within a short while, Nami couldn't see much wrong with it, a few days wouldn't make that great a change.

Though the wait could be a problem, lest they had something to distract them on the trip...

"So after we've called and found a place and time, what would people like to see in the meantime?"

"A meat Island!"

"I think Nami was speaking to our guests Luffy, not the crew"

"A sake distelleri!"

"Mosshead! Robin-schwan just told Luffy the question was for the sweet women-chans!"

One of Robins devilfruit hands made sure that the swordsmans' retort only came out as an angry muffled sound, postphoning any confrontations between the pair.

"Uhm, Nami-sama" a brittle and nervous voice emerged from beyond the door, making Nami turn and face Shirahoshi "I-I'd like to see a forrest, if that's not a problem..."

"No problem whimpy-hoshi!" Luffy waved a hand at her, even if she cringed at his new nickname for her "We promised we'd take you to one, didn't we?"

Mos tof the crew nodded happily, while the majority of their new travelling companions didn't seem to have any particular wishes for the time being.

But Nami didn't doubt that that would change as soon as they began this next chapter in their adventures.

THough she hoped this would be an uneventful and relatively safe, not just for the sake of their guests but for the crew.

Nearly everything lately had been insanely dangerous,

it'd be nice to just drift around for a while,

like just before they entered the Grandline and had run afoul of Baroque works.

Luckily, Nami couldn't imagine that they'd come across a crime syndicate or a yonko in a plain little forrest...

* * *

( **In Mariejois** )

Elder Nyon scrathched her old wrinkled chin, trying to figure out how best to proceed.

After she'd recieved the call from the girls through the Den Den Mushi some princeling had placed on Rindo, it was only natural to inform the missing princesses' fathers first and tell them that not only were their daughters well, but under the protection of the Strawhat pirate crew.

She had met Strawhat Luffy and waas certain that he'd do everything in his power to protect the girls that had fallen into his hand.

All that the situation required really, was to set up a meeting point, somewhere that they could hand over the princesses, and her own two bodyguards.

That was all the easy part and not at all what Nyon was nervous about.

In a city that was crawling with kings and delegates loyal to the world government, it wasn't the most prudent idea to discuss pirates and the handovers of princesses in public, especially if one didn't want neither the girls nor the pirates to get hurt.

She had to find a safe place to call the kings and tell them of the rendevouz. A good spot would be with those they'd left behind, the Merman king's sons and that other bodyguard of the Alabastan King, since those two parties would not only be together and have foudn common ground, but would also have some way to contact their respective kings.

but that, could also be considered the easy part.

The hard part was to find somewhere in Mariejois' pangea castle, where Nyon could call and tell Boa Hancock, that her two underlings were safe and sound a,d with whom.

It was when it came to telling the pirate empress,

that her beloved Strawhat Luffy was now surrounded by a group of very beautifull, young and no doubt grateful women (the mermaid princess apparently surpassing Hancock herself in that department).

"This is going to be hell on my eardrums _nyo!_ " she mumbled to herself as she hurried along, deciding that she was better off telling the worried fathers where their daughters were...

Suddenly she stopped in her tracks nearly tripping oer her own feet as a memeory resurfaced.

Rindo and Marguerite's father... something about him that had been odd...

He hadn't been interested in those that would bear his daughers at all...

only in something that he wanted them to bring to him from within Amazon Lily...

She didn't recall what it was he had wanted, only that he'd gotten his hands on it, and she couldn't ask Rindo and Marguerite's mothers, since those two had beeen dead for years on end...

But given time, she might remember the name of him.

Somehow, she felt that thier parentage would matter later on,

if their father was alive, they'd meet him, even get to know him, a situation unprecedented amongst the denizens of Amazon Lily.

But if he was dead after all these years, the prophecy said they'd join him soon...

Considering the state of the New World and what monsters hid within, in the sea, on the islands and even up in the sky if the rumours were true (and they were, atleast according to what she'd heard from Strawhat) then it might very well be a far too severe danger the women were in.

* * *

 **End of chapter 11**

welcome to the new follower,

I promised a short chapter and I'm sad to say that I did not deliver on that one.

if everything goes according to plan, then the next chapter will be shorter, speeding up the writing and update process

 **treads:**

Strawhats: just chilling and getting into a new rhytm with all their new passengers, not an easy task taken their strong personalities into account.

Big Mom Pirates: got some reinforcements on Runny Rum Archiepelago, and now have to deal with their behaviour. Kato and Dacquise are both canon members of the crew, whom I've given a little backstory and some personality for good measure ( wiki/Big_Mom_Pirates). Durum is an OC that's here for the lulz.

The royals: kinda represented through Elder Nyon, whose segment of this chapter is a callback to chapter 3.

RnR if you'd be so kind.


	12. Chapter 12: The seas are stil dangerous

**Blood ties like Iron Chains chapter 12**

 **The seas are still dangerous**

* * *

 **(on the** _ **Sunny**_ **, post noon)**

Nami sighed as she looked through her maps again.

Not 24 hours earlier she'd gone over them, trying to find their friends, and now that they had them, she was to search for something else, a town.

Preferably one with a well-equipped clothing store.

One that catered to giants as well as normal sized humans would be perfect.

But that was too much to wish for, especially since it was more important to find some food, and fast! It wouldn't be long before some of their guests (and some of the crew) would eye Chopper like a rack of meat just off the stove, sizzling and steamy.

Nami forced the idea out of her mind, She'd spent days without any food, and Chopper had been fine all the time, even with Luffy, Brook, Pekoms, Carrot and Pedro all suffering with the diminutive reindeer.

The only settlement nearby was called Myron.

Hopefully it had what they needed.

When she exited her study, the navigator found the crews guests lounging on the deck (not that there were many other places on the Sunny that could hold them all). Sanji and Brook kept them company, and provided some recreation, either by way of music or by a small platter of refreshments (leftovers that had been given a little fixing up no doubt) and little compliments which made the girls smile and giggle or just plainly confused them (both the Kuja and Vivi didn't know what the chef was doing).

Franky was also on deck, mending one of the sails.

Zoro simply lay propped up against a wall, all three of his swords in their sheathes at his side. People who knew him would say that the swordsman was in his natural habitat, those who knew him best would argue that he lacked a bottle of sake at his side.

Since they were too many to play any games, they were talking and given their heated confrontation earlier Nami had her fears about how it'd turn out.

Fortunately, it was just about food for the time being.

And how their families were, which would no doubt evolve into a competition on which father/grandfather was the best king.

"Well papa is well liked by our people"

"So is grandfather in Dressrosa, especially after he got the throne back from that monster"

Nami left Vivi and Rebecca to their own devices, instead scaling the stairs to the bridge where Jinbe was at the helm, Luffy not far from him and Carrot leaning on the railing, gazing dreamily at the rolling waves of white and blue and green.

For once the bunny mink looked serene.

Much to Nami's joy it looked like it was sticking, some of the women had questioned her _garchu_ and _nibbling_ habits (Though Viola, for some reason, seemed to enjoy it, usually when near Sanji (perhaps for obvious reasons)).

"Hey, Jinbe-chan I've found a town we should be able to restock in" as she showed him the maps, the fishman smiled.

"Excellent, if everything goes according to plan then we should be there before nightfall" he rumbled in satisfaction as he reset the course, North-northeast, catching an ocean current as easily as a bird caught an updraft.

Nami reasoned that fishmen really had some amazing abilities, and as one of their greatest heroes, it was logical that the former shichibukai lived up to his reputation.

"How are things going up there?"

Nami turned towards the deck again, greeting Robin as she appeared on the deck below, though she couldn't help but be a bit unsatisfied by seeing Vivi's unease in the presence of the pirate archaeologist.

But Robin herself didn't seem to notice, or choose not to, as she made her way towards the stairs.

"Things are fine Robin, we've found a town, if the wind holds Jinbe-chan thinks we'll reach it soon"

"Good, actually, is it ok I borrow Jinbe-san? He a had a question for me a few days ago"

"That's true, could someone take the wheel in the meantime?"

When franky presented himself with a "I'm super at steering my ship this week especially" Jinbe left the wheel, trudging over to walk down the stairs.

Nami followed him out of curiosity and she assumed Luffy did it for the same reason, or he might be bored, to Nami it was possible that her captain didn't even know himself.

"You wanted to talk about Crocodile and a possible alliance, right?"

* * *

( **On the heavily modified ship outside an islandtown** )

The devastation was immense.

Ruined buildings, crumbled walls and still burning homes.

The very sight was making him depressed.

"What do we do captain? I'd rather not stay here for long…"

Turning to his _first mate_ , he cursed a little under his breath, but happy to look at something other than the destruction, even he' could get enough of it.

"What did the locals say, any sight of those mermaids, or whomever snatched them from the right under our noses yesterday?"

"Nothing, only that some pirates arrived at around morning and asked questions, something about Ceasar Clown…"

Scoffing, the man slapped the railing "None of our business then…. Let's get moving…."

"IS that all we're gonna do?"

"bah, give 'em a chest of gold for the information, and their silence, those girls knew we were coming last time, I'm certain! Better that they don't know to run again… and tell 'em there more money for them if they tell us if the spot a giant mermaid"

"They'll jump for the chance to rebuild, and nothing helps more than gold for that" his first mate smiled while he turned to get the gold from the hold.

"Soon…" the captain grumbled as he leaned over the railing, ignoring the ruins infront of him, then he smiled, his words so low that no one but hiimself could hear them:

"You want you daughter King Neptune…. And you have _something_ **I** want for my crew… we're gonna make a nice deal one of these days…. A really nice one… that'll leave a lot of people, very happy!"

* * *

( **On the** _ **Sunny**_ )

A moment passed and Jinbe was still silent, likely pondering his question and what it would imply. He didn't get the chance to begin as an angry voice rung out:

"What could you possibly want with that _monster_?!"

Nami looked at Vivi, not at all surprised about her outburst, Crocodile had really done a number on Alabasta and it was highly unlikely that the bluehaired princess could ever forget it (not that she should). A civil war, framing her father and almost bombing the entire capitol could have that effect on people.

"Wasn't it enough that he was let out of Impel Down?"

"Peace, your highness…." Jinbe said as he held up a hand "I'm no friend of him either, but…"

"but what? You can't mean that you'd trust him again?"

"Vivi, relax and let Jinbe speak will you?"

"NO I won't Luffy! How could you ally with that monster? You know what he did to my country! How could you let him loose?!"

As angry tears streamed down Vivi's cheeks, Nami couldn't do anything but hug her old friend and try to soothe her rage and confusion. Looking at her captain, she could tell that he wasn't happy about what he'd done either.

"It's been gnawing at me for two years! I don't' get it!" the princess whimpered as she buried her head in Nami's neck, trying to wipe her tears away in the navigators' orange locks.

The rest of the deck was silent, keeping silent out of a mix of empathy, pity and curiosity.

"To be fair, Luffy-kun wasn't happy about the idea either…." Jinbe began, an annoyed sneer marring his face as he looked down, not at Vivi or anyone else but somehow at himself "But, if the truth must be spoken, we were, all things considered, better off with him at our side than if we'd left him in that hellhole"

"How can you say that Jinbe?" Sanji called out angrily, almost dropping his platter of morsels (Nami reckoned it was the gravity of the situation that ensured that Luffy didn't pick them up and eat them immediately) "Can't you see how it affects one of those he's made to suffer?"

"I can" the fishman replied, his voice level and controlled, not turning much of his body towards the angry chef.

"He also attacked old man whitebeard right when we arrived, how were we better with crocodile on our side, I don't' get it?"

Turning around to face Luffy, Jinbe sighed "he did that, I remember it well, you kicked his hook out of the way before it reached Whitebeards' neck"

"Yeah" Luffy smiled with a hint of pride, which evaporated almost instantly "He was being very mean!"

"He was" Jinbe agreed, still not losing his cool. Nami imagined that he was listening to the others' protests before he revealed the reasons for his idea, and eventually drive home his point with a closing argument.

"Excuse me, but" instead all eyes turned to marguerite, the blonde kuja looking confused "Why is a crocodile such a problem? Couldn't you just kill and eat it?"

Jinbe chuckled at the kuja's ignorance, Nami couldn't bring herself to laugh, not with a still weeping Vivi in her arms, but she could see the logic, if their island doesn't receive news from the rest of the world, then it stood to reason that they don't know some of the infamous men in it.

"This crocodile is a man I think"

"You sure Rindo?"

"I said _I think_ Marguerite, but it would be nice if it was cleared up"

The question didn't hang in the air for long, Jinbe was more than happy to answer it, but Sanji beat him to it "He's a very nasty pirate we defeated!"

"Technically it was Luffy who defeated him…" Robin mused "….And that could be considered a draw by some"

"What did this _man_ do?"

"He manipulated my country, nearly drove it into a civil war, made himself look like a hero, wrecked a city, almost destroyed the capitol, ran a crime syndicate…." Vivi rambled on, her raving turning ever more incoherent and chaotic as she recited all Crocodile's crimes and deeds.

Even Nami didn't know what she was talking about when she finally stopped, eyes puffy and nose running from the painful memories.

"If I may, I'd like to clarify…" Jinbe began, and for a moment Nami feared that Vivi would continue, but when she didn't JInbe found his opening to elaborate "Crocodile is a man yes, a former member of the shichibukai like myself, a rank which your Empress still holds"

"Are you saying that some man…. Could be as strong as the empress?" Rindo gasped at Jinbe, disbelief written all over her face.

"Impossible, Boa Hancock is the most powerful and beautiful woman on the seas!" Marguerite butted in, her voice carrying an edge of outrage

"I'm not saying that!" Jinbe said with a frown dominating his features "Just that he held the same rank as her, not that they looked anything alike!"

"What does he look like anyway?" Rebecca piped in "We didn't see many wanted posters in the coloseum and father never showed me any either"

"Well…. He pretty much have the same figure as Luffy" the fishman explained, while he held up a hand to about his chin, ignoring his captains' protests _(I don't' look like him at all!)_ "Just taller, and with a bigger scar, running across his face, face and personality aren't a like at all by the way"

Seemingly satisfied, none of the women asked further questions, even though Luffy was still fuming by Jinbe's comparison.

"Still, why could you even suggest allying with him? He's an enemy!"

"In the New World, Sanji, every old enemy could make a very powerful ally, I'd say the same about Gekko Moriah if we encountered him, in fact, he'd be more than willing to an alliance if it was to defeat Kaido"

Shushing Luffy as he began to talk about not wanting to ally with him either, Nami faced Jinbe

"Then why not focus on him instead of Crocodile?"

"Simple, if we allied with Moriah, there'd be nothing to assure that he'd not try and betray us before our task was completed"

"But it's the same with Crocodile" Robin scratched her chin, one eyebrow raised "In fact, he's more likely to double cross us!"

"Hmm yes he would…" Jinbe mused "Unless we knew something about him that he didn't want to be made public…"

"You got dirt on him? That's great! We could practically make him do our laundry if we wanted to!" Sanji beamed, rubbing his hands in delight while puffing on his cigarette happily.

" **I…** do not" Jinbe confided, much to the crews' disappoint- and befuddlement "But given Robin-sans' confusion from before, I dare say that you don't know what sort of secrets he has either…. And we can't just call up Emporio Ivankov and have him tell us what it is…. Seems my idea is a deadend afterall" the fishmans' face fell, a lip sticking out, making it seem that he was still contemplating his idea.

"But if you told him that you'd reveal his secret…." Vivi began, freeing herself from Nami's embrace, a few lingering tears still stuck on her cheeks "You could use him against Kaido or somebody else… and then finish him off for good!"

The last sentence made Nami cringe, even if she'd partaken in the assassination attempt on Big Mom, the navigator didn't like the idea of using a person, even an enemy, like _that._

"Even if I'd be okay with lying…" the fishman replied, his eyes turning angry " **Attacking a person in the back like that, to use them as some sort of disposable slave, I would not**!" Vivi shivered beneath the gravity of the fishman's gaze, any retort or comback evaporating like morning mist.

"You can't talk that way to her!" Sanji snarled at Jinbe, walking up and stared him straight in the eyes "Crocodile did that himself, why not serve him some of his own medicine?"

"Because I'm better than that! **We** are better than that! Or am I mistaken?"

Silence reigned, until Luffy opened his mouth "Why're we fighting over this? If we meet Crocodile we'll talk about it then!"

Nami smiled, for once in a rare while, Luffy turned out to be right, even if he was the most softheaded person that had ever stepped foot on the Sunny (some of the shipwrights from Water 7 included).

"I just wanted to address it if we ever came across him again"

"Even so, that shouldn't have been now!" Sanji said angrily (ignoring the fact that it had been Robin that brought it up, not the crews' new helmsman) the chefs' face still inches away from the former shichibukai' (or rather a foot, there wasn't much Sanji could do to limit the distance, aside from stop tiptoeing and start to jump).

"I acknowledge my mistake, but it had to be discussed at some point or another, and preferably before any eventual meeting"

"But why him? It could be anyone else!" Sanji kept chiding him, Jinbe kept his cool, despite the condescending tone the chef gave him.

"Because, despite being an absolute ass, he actually proved quite useful. He stopped Mihawk from Killing Luffy for starters!"

"Say that again!"

"Later Zoro-san, please" Jinbe took a moment "Besides, if we reached out first, that'd mean that we could dictate most of the terms for an alliance, and even prevent him from calling in a favour from us…"

"Whoa Whoa! What favour? We don't owe that guy anything!"

Turning to Luffy, Jinbe looked serious "Luffy-kun, when Sakazuki gave you that **X** at Marineford" he pointed at the scar on Luffy's chest, then to his own wound "I was prone, and Sakazuki was about to deliver the finishing blow… Crocodile stopped him and sent us towards Law-kuns' submarine…. by doing so, whether we like it or not…. he saved our lives. He's not the type to forget either a depth or a grudge"

Luffy pouted at this, not happy in the least.

Nami understood him, she had felt something similar when she had been one of Arlongs crew (that one would sting until the end of time, of that she was certain).

"He's going to come look for us later huh?"

"Yes, I'm afraid so Luffy-kun"

"Good, then we'll punch his lights out when we meet 'im" the captain smiled confidently, much to the relief of Vivi, and the rest of their guests and the crew.

Jinbe and Robin were the only ones not convinced by his confidence, but, by some unseen agreement, neither spoke about it, deeming it enough talk about their enemy for one day.

The only one that seemed to notice their disapproval was Nami.

The rest, not so much:

"So what's the other shibikais like?" Carrots' head appeared on the bridge, looking down on the deck with awe plastered all over her face

"Shichibukai, Carrot" Franky corrected her from behind the wheel "They're a super tough bunch, we fought a few before we arrived at Zou"

"Doflamingo was the worst!"

"No mosshead, Kuma was the worst, he split us up! Sent me straight to hell!"

"We met up again didn't we?"

"Easy for you to say Luffy, You got sent to heaven!" the chef retorted, jealousy all too clear in his voice.

"Wasn't it worse meeting Mihawk for you Zoro?"

"He just cut me Robin, that's not so bad. Doflamingo however, now he was bad, sliced up a whole country!"

"Don't talk about that with Viola-chan and Rebecca-chan here Mosshead! Can't you see they don't' like it"

Noting the Niece and aunt duo, Nami had to agree, the swordsman, didn't:

"You're only saying that because you fled the battle before it really started!"

"I had to guard Nami-scha-Nami-sama and Brook and Chopper and Sunny from The Big Mom pirates!"

"You still fled!"

Nami decided to leave the pair to their usual scuffles, turning on her heel and walked towards the girls quarters. If she was lucky she'd get there before any one…

"Hey Nami wait up!"

…noticed her leaving….

"Yes Vivi?"

"I was wondering if you could help me with some new clothes, the toga is nice and would per great for Alabasta, but it's not really fitting for sea travel"

Nami understood, but she had silently, and enthusiastically, wished that the other women wouldn't have asked her immediately (ideally, they'd never have asked her at all), but now she was trapped.

"….Sure, follow me" the navigator responded, not wanting to let her friend down, at least not so soon, after her emotional episode

"You haven't been given the tour of the Sunny yet either have you?" Nami said, hoping that she could distract her friend with perhaps the docking system and keep her clothes to herself, at least awhile longer.

* * *

( **In** _ **Germa Kingdom**_ )

" _Cheers!"_

Once again, the hall echoed to the sound of several mugs of fine ale ramming into each other, spilling their contents on the shiny floor, the table and the assembled royalty and their bodyguards.

Naturally they didn't care, it was neither their alcohol or their homes, and they could repay for any of the damages they caused in their revelry (there were only one of the Vinsmokes present and Reiju didn't seem to care what they did either, the pinkette being busy binging with the kings, meanwhile the rest of their esteemed hosts were either scheming in some other part of their kingdom or standing vigil over the stricken Niji).

It had been on for over an hour, and several barrels and expensive bottles lay empty on the table and floor, waiting for the staff to clean up later (the kings took a certain amount of pride in the amount they had consumed, and their aides didn't think it prudent that the staff saw their lieges behave like a bunch of drunkards).

But they had good reason to celebrate, as soon as Neptune had received word from his sons at Mariejois, that their daughters (and granddaughter, and friends' family if you wanted to get into the finer details) were safe, and in the custody of the Strawhat crew, a common friend amongst the kings, they had called for drink and wine to celebrate, sending the staff on repeated trips to the wine cellar (the parts that the intruder from yesterday hadn't raided) and making Cosette prepare a feast for them (dishes the intruder had listed off ass desirable had been surprisingly popular, not just for the diners but for the chefs as well (despite the carnage he'd caused it seemed that the kitchen staff was looking forward to his next visit, if only to cook a menu like that)).

Personally, Cobra was keeping to a small glass of some nutritious liquid that they served to the extremely sick, or would, if Germa kingdom cared about anyone but their royal house, Cobra couldn't help but feel that if they changed their course, the whole world could benefit from their technology, and not just through their weaponry and military.

As yet another round of vintage Déesse was poured by the king of Prodence, himself already deeply intoxicated (which resulted in most of the bottles' contents ended up on the table instead of in the glasses) Cobra found himself leaning back in his wheelchair, wondering.

"You don't want a drink Cobra-sama?"

Turning to the large man, Cobra tried to sound as appeasing as he could "Unfortunately Dagama-san… my constitution prevents me from drinking as much as I'd like…. oh, but don't let that keep you from celebrating on my behalf" he added quickly, despite how much the tactician had consumed, Cobra couldn't help but assume that the chubby man would be up to something if he had the time to think, and after the intruder had uncovered the scheme that Vinsmoke Judge had concocted, he wasn't in the mood for more plotting, especially against himself.

"I'll drink to that!" the tactician accentuated his words by downing the contents of his mug and finishing off with a loud burp, leading to the Pell gently, but surely, leading his colleague away from his liege.

Which left him open for one of the other kings to talk to him without anything to deter him.

The King that did so was Neptune, of almost similar sized to his daughter, whom Cobra had been watching attentively at the Reverie (It was hard for him not to. Cobra was an unashamed lecher, even if he was ill as hell) it was amazing that the merman could sneak up on someone.

"A penny for your thoughts, or mayhaps a son-in-law if I were the sort to copy our _esteemed_ host-jamon" the huge bearded merman chuckled deeply, his massive barrel-chest making it sound as if a whole rowdy gang had heard a moderately entertaining joke. The merman seemed more like a big bear, accustomed to laugh and brawl in tavern, than what most expected of a king. Cobra had taken a natural liking to the man almost immediately.

"I was just… mulling something over, nothing serious really" he tried to assure his underwater counterpart, but to no avail

"Something small for a wise king, is something great for his subjects and colleagues…"

"…No fooling you is there?"

"No, but I assume that you did not tell about it immediately, because it is something that worries you"

"There's definitely no fooling you" Cobra stated with a smile

"Shall we take it a bit away from the others? You look like some sea air would do you good"

Walking/rolling over to a balcony, the two kings looked out on the sea the rays of the sun reflecting on the cresting waves like gems. Coupled with the serene song of the wind it was perhaps the most tranquil thing Cobra had seen in a while. But he had no doubt that seeing his daughter again and eventually on the throne (and with a husband, preferably one that was kind and wise and not as naïve as he'd been when his country had almost been destroyed).

"So what were you thinking about?"

"… When we heard that our daughters were safe, I was happy, hearing that it was with the Strawhats, even more so…" Cobra paused, not sure on how to proceed

"I can understand, they're a good pirate crew and will no doubt take good care of our daughters"

"I know, they saved my country from Crocodile, and the marines covered it up like it never happened" Cobra said with venom in his tongue. Next to him Neptune nodded knowingly.

"I know the feeling, thye saved my country from a violent and bloody coup, we covered that one up ourselves though" he admitted the last bit, but Cobra didn't judge him for that one, at least the man was showing him the courtesy of being honest.

"I know they'll be safe, Vivi's travelled with them before, she knows them well"

"And I know Jinbe, who is no doubt travelling with them now!"

Both nodded, they trusted the Strawhats.

"But then, what is worrying you?"

"Just a hitch I'm having…"

"You're afraid you won't see her again regardless that she's safe"

"That too King Neptune… it's that intruder from yesterday…"

"What about him? Mad as a school of frenzied sharks no doubt, and strong as one too"

"Don't forget smart, that man knew too much…"

"If it's about Judges' little marriage idea, most of us had already guessed it"

"Not that, No one beside me and a few others, like Pell and my closest advisors and guards knew that Vivi sailed with them, and they're tight-lipped about it, but he knew! But that shouldn't be possible!"

"I can see your point… far too clearly I'm afraid"

"I've no doubt about that" Cobra said as he scratched his chin "That man worries me"

"Not as much as he worries Judge at least" Neptune chuckled "After all, if he makes good of his promise, that man will return to this country"

Cobra's face split into a grin "That's true! A threat that you know is coming, can sometimes be far worse than if you don't know if it's coming"

His laughs ended almost immediately as a coughing fit made the Alabastan king double over in his wheelchair, tears stinging in his eyes his breath burning in his throat.

In between his coughing spasms, Cobra was vaguely aware of what Neptune was saying

" **G…T A DKTR! QIK!**

* * *

 **(Back on the** _ **Sunny**_ **)**

Nami hid it well, but she was secretly disappointed,

Vivi had not been distracted by the numerous marvels on the _Thousand Sunny,_ at all.

Which was why, she was now helping the Alabastan princess go through her wardrobe like Luffy through a meat buffet. It was almost too much for her to bear. Sitting on one of the three beds in the room, Nami awaited for her friend to need her fashion advice.

"So how does this look on me?"

Nami didn't honestly know what to say, Vivi stood in one Nami's more recent acquisitions, a pink top with "Heat" written over the chest and a pair of black hotpants. Neither of which was Vivi's size, either too tight or too loose, in all the wrong places. By Namis' estimate, it was the fifth time she had changed.

"Keep looking…." She eventually managed, trying to sound upbeat, but on some level failed (specifically in choice of words).

Vivi, however, didn't seem to notice, and neither did Nami. The orange haired navigator was too concerned about her friends' appearance…. And thinking about something… something she'd noticed out on the deck, and last night.

Vivi had been acting in an odd way around several members of the crew.

"Vivi… is everything allright?" she asked slowly, seeing Vivi throw yet another pair of pants over the room divider that she was changing behind.

"N-no, what would be wrong?"

"I can hear you stammering, and that outfit from before was the first one you tried on" Nami said the words as evenly as she could, not wanting to up set the young woman behind the divider, but also firmly enough to not be ignored and to assure that Vivi understood she couldn't change the subject, no matter how hard she tried.

But Nami had a bad feeling the bluenette was going to try anyway…

"I'm just trying it on again!" the words were forceful, bordering on angry, but had that specific quality too them that told it was as brittle as a swaying chandelier of crystal glass, not like a red-hot iron that was being swung at you. The latter was harmful if you let it touch you, but the former you feared that it'd break.

It was the way Nami felt about Vivi right now.

Brittle glass.

But one had to touch glass in order to polish it and make it clear.

"Vivi… I'm not stupid, blind or deaf. I can tell when something is going on"

The bluenette in question emerged from behind the divider, looking nervously at Nami on the bed, _glass almost breaking_ , a hand holding a shirt over her chest.

"I know you aren't but I'm really trying it on…" she began, but Nami wasn't in the mood for sidetracking

"Vivi, you've been avoiding Robin like the plague since you got here, and, while that could be explained because of your shared past, that you're also acting odd around Jinbe-chan isn't"

Nami quieted down, giving the Alabastan princess a moment to reply, when that didn't happen, she started to grow weary, narrowing her eyes, giving Vivi _the look,_ it was that specific kind of watching another person that said more than an entire speech, but could be summarized with: _you better tellme this or there's going to be trouble!_ (Nami herself had gotten it enough times from Belemere to know how effective it could be. But she'd also used it herself enough times on Luffy to know that it didn't work on everyone. But Vivi wasn't in that particular group).

"I'm just not used to them is all…."

Nami could see through the lie almost immediately "You're also not used to Brook or Franky, and definitely not Carrot, But you're not avoiding them for that reason"

Vivi bit her lip and looked down, her eyes growing smaller

"What is it Vivi?" Nami cooed, trying to soothe her friends fears

"Why are _those two_ here?" Vivi blurted out with enough force to take Nami by surprice, looking at the bluenette with a mix of shock and anticipation... and a little satisfaction for her being open about her opinions and less polite for a change.

"They're our comrades, Luffy was ok with both of them joining…" Nami started, her voice a little feeble at Vivi's outburst

"But Robin fought against you in Alabasta! And the other is, is…."

"I admit I wasn't certain about Robin at first, but we're all okay now, and I trust her with my life! I trust her with the lives of Luffy and the rest of the crew too, and I'd trust her with yours too!" A raised finger pointed straight at Vivi made certain she stayed silent, at least until Nami was finished "Now, trust me, Robin is way better than her reputation. And she's a better person than you remember her to be."

Nami hadn't raised her voice, but it had been as immovable and solid as a mountain.

Vivi stood still, looking down in shame, and Nami still had more to say

"And What was it you were about to say about Jinbe-chan?"

A moment passed, still silence. Nami's response was to simply remain quiet and play the waiting game, with no doubt in her mind, that Vivi would cave in first.

"…I just don't see…"

Nami smiled at being right and waited for the princess to finish

"Why you allow a shichibukai to sail with you?"

Nami looked surprised at her "I… actually thought you were going to have a problem with him being a fishman, not a former shichibukai" she managed, a bit ashamed that she thought her friend had _prejudiced_ tendencies.

"N-no…" Vivi responded, still looking at the floor …."I'm not… like that, you gotta go to the Kuja if you want that sort of thing…" she added, her voice bordering on whispering.

Cocking an eyebrow at her, Nami choose to ignore the comment for the time being, instead focussing on the young woman in front of her.

"I know the title is something to be afraid of… but he's really a nice person, despite some of the things he's done…"

"I still done get how you can trust a shichibukai"

"They're not all alike…. I think" Nami tried to assure her "Jinbe-chan saved Luffy's life, he's trustworthy"

"So did Crocodile! That doesn't mean he is!" Vivi argued, her voice scolding "That is if he was telling the truth and not trying some sick double-crossing warlord trick!"

"First off, they can't all be bad, Luffy's on good terms with the snake one (I think), Zoro was taught by Mihawk and Jinbe has saved us alto lately, he is here, and he is as honest as any man you'd ever meet, that, I promise you." Nami had thought about the first time she'd met Jinbe, and nothing about him, had at any point given her a feeling of duplicity. He had accepted the guilt for what Arlong had done, and Nami had respected him ever since. Vivi, when they'd started sailing together, had given off a less trusting vibe than Jinbe ever had, not to mention some of the women that were on board at the moment (especially Viola after that whole morning thing).

Vivi stood silent for a moment, her face still downcast, a lip quivering slightly as she tried to find the words "Nami… I-I'm sorry…"

Rising from the bed, the navigators' face softened considerably as she hugged her friend.

"I know Vivi, everyone makes mistakes…. And by the way, the s _econdly part,_ is that you have to apologize to Jinbe, not me…." Releasing the bluenette, Nami gave her a wry smirk "but only if he's take offence to your…. protests"

Vivi made a small sound, something between a whimper and a giggle, and pulled a little smile at Nami "I think Luffy was a bit more angry than I was actually"

"Luffy wasn't about to tear up" cocking an eyebrow at her, Nami eventually smiled at Vivi "But, yeah, he was pretty pissed"

A few taps on the door ripped the pair out of their tender moment and made them turn towards it, the hug ended.

"I thought I heard something" the happy voice of Viola entered the room, scarcely a moment before she did herself.

"Hey, is there something wrong" Nami wasn't entirely happy to see the older woman, not after their little morning meeting, or the fight in the kitchen.

"A little, you didn't tell us that there were spare clothes we could borrow on board"

Nami internally cringed at the thought of sharing more of her wardrobe, an act that the heir of Dressrosa caught somehow. Looking at her in that special way, she smiled at her "oh don't worry, the blonde Kuja, marguerite, said she could resize them, she's being quite helpful, unlike her _comrade_ …." she said in a soothing voice, not addressing Nami's actual problem with the situation.

"That's…. nice" the navigator blinked, still not being the slightest bit comfortable with having her mind read like a newspaper.

But as the trio was joined by Viola's niece, Nami tried to force her unease out of her mind, focussing on the unease of perhaps never getting some of her favourite garments back, and not being able to fit into them herself.

But she had several things to occupy her mind, telling her guests what didn't go together, mentally raging a little at the women's petty scuffles and disagreements and of course, physically raging at Brook when the skeleton tried to peek at the women changing.

* * *

 **(meanwhile, on the seas in a small boat** )

Lounging under a parasol on a perfect sunny afternoon, was a luxury that most people in his position either ignored or failed to appreciate fully.

But he wasn't most people, even amongst people like him, he stood out and he knew it, and he made sure that others did too.

He was currently enjoying the last of the Painoian he took from the Germa winecellar (not the 29 year old, he wanted to savour that later, perhaps when he celebrated that the next step in his plans came to fruition, with a good meal, although it'd be hard to come across a chef capable of serving him a meal that lived up ti his standards).

His taste for the luxurious was a thing he was proud of, it served to distance him from others, like Strawhat.

Of course, he'd heard his real name, and even been commanded to say it out loud a few times (not that he'd ever do anything Fran ordered him to), but he didn't have to call him by it. Keeping it professional was better anyway. For everyone.

Looking over his special map, he noted when the next _Knock Up stream_ would be arriving, making sure he was positioned directly above the blast point. The rest of the world had been ignorant about that specific natural occurrence for decades, seeing it as a huge danger, but he'd made good use of them for over 2 decades.

And now he was to use it again.

He chuckled a little as a different subject sprung up in his mind

 _Those pathetic fools!_

The kings with the missing daughters didn't even realise that the den den mushi he'd left behind, also acted as a hidden wire. Even now he could hear how they celebrated knowing their daughters were safe and, on whose ship, they were sailing.

He'd known that they'd be found by that imbecile eventually, that it'd happen so fast was almost impressive.

By now their little group would be tearing themselves apart with their different viewpoints and what not.

But that wasn't important for him.

As long as it kept them occupied, it lowered the likelihood of them disturbing his plans for the underworld. At least not seriously. Though he'd made the mistake of underestimating them before, with their minds fixed on trying to get their little friends safely back to their families, he at least didn't have to throw something their way, like an assassin or an expendable pirate crew.

He'd kept a close eye on their movements since before six months before their reunion on Sabaody Archiepelago and he wasn't going to repeat his mistakes with them from before.

Some of the things he'd found out about them had been very surprising to say the least.

He'd gladly admit, that the news that the reindeer wasn't the crews' pet, but their doctor, had made him question his sources' validity. But then again, if they kept being lucky, then it was likely that the _Cotton Candy Lover_ could cure Nefertari, but only if he got to them in time. The king didn't have much time left. But there were other ways to cure his ailment. Ways that most, himself not included, weren't even aware of, even if it was right under their noses the whole time.

Most people really didn't appreciate the power of specific types of devil fruits. Let alone bothered to experiment with the different abilities that they had.

Yet another shortcoming that continued to plague the vast majority of the worlds' intelligent races.

He himself was capable of doing things most people wouldn't dream of, even if it was logically within the fruits' power to do so. All that was required was a bit of imagination. It was the same with any power and ability, be it strength, haki or devilfruits. It all depended on the user imagination.

He didn't doubt that Strawhat hadn't even explored even the surface of what his fruit was capable of. But that was his loss and would only concern himself if the two encountered each other in the New World.

If Fran got her way that'd be a question of _when_ and not _if_. Had he been younger he'd have shuddered at the thought.

At that moment, one of the den den mushi he brought along began to ring.

Noting which one it was, he reached for the little gastropod in his suitcase.

Sighing he clicked it.

"Speak of the devil…"

"What's that's supposed to mean?" an angry, and only slightly female voice rang out from the little animal "What are you taking about?"

"I was just thinking about you is all"

"Aww, thanks, but if you're thinking about me, it must mean you miiiiisssssss meeeee" the voice had turned slightly softer, even gaining a playful edge, which she knew would anger him.

"tThe only way I'd miss you, is if my aim is off" he responded, his tone growing harsher at her teasing "what do you want?"

"The newspaper's late!" the voice whined

"You don't receive one on that island, it can't possibly be late" he scolded her, pinching the bridge of his narrow nose, he knew it was a futile act, also trying to explain things in a way that Fran would bother to understand.

"I wanna hear the news!"

"There isn't any news that concern you"

"Is there nothing new at all?" the voice nagged, ignoring his tone completely.

"….The princesses has been found, all six of them…" he reluctantly revealed, his shoulder slumping down.

"Who cares about them? I wanna hear about…." The voice went on, but he interrupted her:

"Oh, I have to go now Fran, something is happening, I'll call you back!"

He didn't stop the call because he was tired of hearing her voice, though it was satisfying to have some peace and quiet for a change, but because the Knock Up Stream was about to go off, and if was ever so enjoyable to see the sea disappear beneath him as he went skywards.

Besides, there were no way to get a signal up on the Sky Island he was going to, so he'd be safe from hearing her voice for at least a day or two.

But when he would eventually call her with an update later, she'd be all the more furious. Frans' mood could be compared to food, left unattended for too long and it went bad, very bad.

But for now, the important thing, was his next profit from the Sky Islands.

* * *

( **On the** _ **Sunny**_ **, hours later, at the town of Myron** )

"Holy crap!"

Nami wouldn't have used that few words but she agreed with Usopp nonetheless.

The view over the town of Myron was mortifying!

Destroyed buildings, most of the harbour reduced to rubble, some houses still smoking.

It wasn't hard to figure out what had happened.

The destruction told her everything she needed to know.

Most of the towns' outskirts and suburbs had been destroyed, the most important buildings, infrastructure and defensive positions had been laid to waste.

This had been an attack, played by the book, completely obliterating whatever small chance the inhabitants had for fighting back.

The result had been as expected.

All resistance had been decimated.

"What are you guys waiting for! Let's see what's happened!"

Namis' head whipped around, just in time to see Luffy whip open the dicking gate and begin boarding the Kurosai FR-U IV.

"LUFFY GOD DAMMIT, THAT'S NOT A BOAT, IT'S A MOTORCYCLE, IT DOES NOT FLOAT! SOMEBODY STOP HIM!"

Just before he could launch the vehicle into the water, Franky landed a heavy hand on his shoulder, and despite repeated protests of "It'd be cool if I arrived on that!" the shipwright did not let his captain loose.

Eventually a boarding party was selected as it might be dangerous to approach with the Sunny, it'd only take one functioning cannon to kill someone after all.

Luffy was adamant about him going there, same with Chopper, with that much devastation then the doctor was more vital than ever, Jinbe had also joined arguing that he could keep Luffy on subject and not go galivanting around like a madman (he did not use those exact words), Nami had joined up with them, just for the sake of seeing that. Zoro had tagged along out of boredom.

(If Jinbe hadn't been able to swim, then there wouldn't have been room in the Mini Merry II, and Zoro would have been left behind or been forced to swim himself, which ever he felt like).

To Nami's relief, there wasn't any shots fired at the small boat, and they safely reached the harbour.

There the navigator could see that she had been right all along.

But of whom had caused the destruction, there was no sign.

"HEY! ANYBODY HEREEEE?" Her voice rang out amongst the ruins, soon joined by Luffys' and Chopppers' but to no avail.

There were no one to answer, either too afraid or having fled. There were a third option, but that wasn't one Nami was much for thinking about.

As they kept calling and no on still answered, Nami's hope of finding any survivors dimmed.

* * *

 **(On the** _ **Sunny)**_

"What do you see, Viola-chan?"

"Not Much Sanji-kun, they've reached the harbour and it looks like they're looking for survivors"

Nodding his understanding Sanji fell silent.

Since they were more people on the ship than usual, there were a longer line in using the spyglass to see what was going on. Presently, Brook had it, before that it had been Usopp and before that Robin-schwan.

Sanji had gone a different route and asked Viola-chan for help. The same idea had occurred to her darling niece Rebecca-chan.

The rest of the Strawhat crew was up on the bridge, some getting ready for landing, while others prepared for the eventuality of an attack (how _God_ Usopp intended to do that when hiding in the hold, she didn't know).

Viola hadn't, unlike her counterpart from Alabasta and her darling niece, been able to find something she liked in the navigators' (or the archaeologists' and the minks') wardrobe that suited her (either in size or in taste) the former assassin had simply remade another toga out of some spare sail.

"Still nothing new…" Viola said as she lowered her hand.

Sighing, Viola looked at Sanji, so worried about his friends, but mostly for their young navigator.

Feeling a stab of annoyance, Viola looked back at the port, a minor pout playing on her lips. Tugging lightly at her Nieces new shirt (which the blonde Kuja hadn't refitted to either women's liking yet) Viola gave Rebecca a look to the side, and the pinkhaired ex-gladiator looked confused at her, before looking at Sanji and went away with a light blush, leaving the dancer and the chef alone for a little private chat.

"Sanji-kun…"

"Yes Viola-chan?"

"Why is navigator-saan so harsh with you?"

Her question took him aback, and as soon as the surprise had abated, the chef looked down in shame and embarrassment.

"I-it's not so easy to explain…" he managed, his voice a mix of meek and strong words, the signs of discomfort, of e person about to run away.

Not something she cared much for.

Not something she wanted to see from her… _special friend_.

"it's okay, you don't have to say anything….I can just look into your head and see for myself…. If that is okay?" her soothing words made Sanji look at her with a heavy blush on his cheeks, threatening to turn his entire head as red and hot as magma.

"….Sanji?"

"I would love to!" the look on Sanji's face could have told her that he agreed, and enthusiastically so.

After she'd seen the reason for …Nami-schwans' hostility, she frowned a little and looked seriously at Sanji. The chef in question began to sweat a little. A little shiver could be noticed if you looked at the former prince thoroughly.

"That was serious what you did…." She began, not blinking once "But you had the best reason I could possibly name… you still do…" she smiled at him "and if she saw what I saw, she's going to lay off the nastiness"

As she raised her hand to her eye again, Viola hoped that the navigator could see reason.

If half the things Sanji-kun thought about her was right, she needn't worry, but first she had too make the orange haired thief understand.

"Hey, something is happening!"

* * *

 **(In** _ **Myron**_ **)**

The old woman trembled as she levelled the rifle in their direction, making Nami and Chopper draw back vary of the threat.

The rest of their party didn't have that sort of fear and approached the elder calmly.

"Don't move!" she howled at the approaching pirates, the barrel of the gun shook violently now.

"We will not" Jinbe said, both palms held high "We don't want any trouble, just see what is going on here, and perhaps buy a few things…"

"What happened here?"

"Some pirates came, some blasted thrice cursed pirate scum…." The woman almost wept, the gun shaking as if an earthquake went off right beneath her feet.

"Don't you dare MOVE!" the woman repeated loudly, her finger tightened around the trigger.

* * *

 **(On the** _ **Sunny**_ **)**

"And what now?" half a dozen voices called out, excitement and worry evident in their voices

"They're still talking things over with that old armed woman…" Viola said, waving at them all to be still "wait…."

For a moment, they all stood stockstill, except for Usopp who was arming a cannon, much to the displeasure of some of the crew, not for wanting to aid his friends, but shooting at a old lady was stretching it more than a bit.

"She's lowering the gun… they've convinced her not to shoot them, and the old woman is talking to doctor-chan now…." Every woman that had ever been on the Sunny had taken a liking to Chopper, it was natural for them to call him anything with -chan at the end, much to the jealousy of the chef and musician of the crew, and the sniper, and to a certain extent the shipwright.

"I think… everything is going to be ok"

* * *

 **(In Myron, a few hours later)**

Waving good bye at their new friends

Nami smiled,

Despite being attacked by some brutal crew on their search for, not the princesses (much to her surprise), Ceasar Clown (the vile, annoying, cruel, sadistic, lying monster that would experiment on children), it seemed the town would do fine, not only had they already been given a generous amount of gold by some other ship (which they refused to name, but didn't mind telling were there, anything else they kept their traps shut about).

Nami had been happy to get rid of the scientist, and she' d much rather see the creep being hurt than these poor townspeople.

She should've insisted they'd given him a leaking boat (his behaviour around her little godson should have made that a natural course of action).

But they'd have to get back to the Sunny. Fortunately, the town had enough food and bolts of cloth for them to buy.

Otherwise the trip to Myron, had been horrible. The wounded inhabitants and the destroyed buildings were to be expected, the worst part was that the old woman had proven to be as manipulative and miserly as Nami herself. Half of their money had been used to pay for the provisions (cloth, sewing thread, food (meat mostly) and cola enough to use the _Coup de Burst_ for a few times).

"Oh, by the way" Nami asked the old woman, whom at this point was biting into each little piece of gold to test its' purity, watching her like a hawk, the kind that could draw a rifle on you and was very likely to pull the trigger "Are there any island with large forests nearby? A friend of ours loves those"

"Sure, plenty if you're sailing to Runny Rum, you can't miss it, there's a big one with a mountain and meadows and lakes and everything"

Nami tried her best to ignore the old woman's awaiting palm but couldn't escape the haunting puppy dog eyes that shone like a pair of twin lighthouses, nor the quivering lower lip and the eyes that looked as if they could break into tears at a moments notice. Handing the woman another coin as thanks, Nami hurried to the boat.

Buying enough food, for a few days at least (but scarcely enough for a party or a goodbye feast, and not enough for their resident glutton captain to get full), had forced them to rent a boat, which was yet another unwanted expense.

Nami had wanted to scream at the old woman, but she didn't want to kick someone when they were down, so she went with it. After all, they couldn't' sail the Sunny into the harbour, not with all of their guests out in the open. People'd get suspicious, and suspicious people talked a lot more than most people thought. Before long they'd call the marines, and then all hell would break loose.

Of course, they could handle a little captain like they did earlier with Redcliff and Jolland, but the last thing Nami wanted was to have a larger bounty. Even though the rest of their crew would probably celebrate it with gusto (Zoro drank like he always celebrated something anyway, but she hadn't bought much sake, which would infuriate him a lot, unless they managed to get their hands on some more before he found out about it).

When they got back to the Sunny, the sun was starting to set, and the majority of crew and guests were more than happy to see that food had arrived (cola included) or that they could get some new clothes, poor Shirahoshi and both kuja hadn't had a chance to change into something more… clean and untorn. Viola had, seemingly in protest, decided to don a toga again, though Nami had caught her, and all the other girls, eyeing the dress she had been gifted by the minks. And why wouldn't they? It was beautiful. And more importantly, it practically fit anyone who wore it, a fact which Nami made sure to keep hidden from others'.

As soon as the fabric had come aboard, most of the women, again, retreated to the girls' quarter, most for having their sizes taken so that they could be properly dressed, and others, Marguerite, to start working on the different outfits that were required. Nami didn't doubt that when next she saw the blonde Kuja, she'd be almost as worn out as Luffy had been after they'd fought that army on Tottoland.

Fortunately, she'd get a break from her work when it was time to eat, unless the others worked her extra hard so that had something nice to wear at the table.

"Sanjiiiii! What's for dinnnneeeeeer?"

"I don't know what you've brought Luffy!"

The sound of the usual questions made her smile a little. Even if she was still mad at the chef for his actions in Tottoland, it was nice that the crew could go on about their normal activities, despite the shadow of war with Kaido that hung over their heads.

The thought stopped Nami's smile as soon as it had begun. Furrowing her brow, she considered their options.

"Hey, Jinbe-chan?" she said calmly, if a bit worried.

"What is it Nami-san?"

"If you've got the time, I'd like a word with you…."

"Certainly, I can meet you in your study as soon as I've loaded the rest of the goods"

Nami was aware of the jealous look Sanji was giving Jinbe, but she had more important things to think about.

If they were going to fight a Yonko, she'd learnt a thing or two in Tottoland.

And while she loathed the idea of learning more in a similar fashion,

If the crew were to survive, they needed to plan thoroughly.

* * *

 **(On Runny Rum Archipelago, in the evening)**

"So Raisin is trying to find Ceasar Clown? That's good to know"

"Is that envy I can hear sister Galette?"

"A little Smoothie-neesan" Galette admitted. It wasn't exactly a secret that she'd rather have a sea between herself and Dacquise (the mans' stalking tendencies were getting a bit too direct) and Durum as well, just for good measure.

Currently, the latter was standing stock still, face against a newly painted wall, his eyes focussed. Smoothie knew Galette well enough to know what she was thinking about.

"They're not causing trouble, are they? It'd be hard to make a shift so soon, Brownie is supposed to be off to sea by now!"

"I'll give you an example sister" Galette said preparing to roll her eyes and imagining that Smoothie would do the same

"Durum, what are you doing?"

"OI'm watshin dis 'ere paind! It betthar nod make ani troubl!" the answer came, the huge man not turning around to face her, too intent on his self-imposed task.

"It's new paint isn't it?" Galette inquired

"Yash! Can'd thust new paind, don't know whad id'll do!" if Durum had been brighter, Galette would have thought he was lying, but he was too stupid to think up even a normal sentence. The only redeeming traits the brute had was strength, and, as some odd people would argue, a funny voice brought on by the massive gap he had between his large rodent-like front teeth making it sound like a whistle going off each time he spoke. At least the buffoon breathed through the nose, if not, Galette would likely have gone crazy already.

"And what did you do before that?"

"OI wash swaddin flies!"

"I've already told you…. that that…. was vanilla seeds…. in your dessert…." The redhead corrected him slowly, for both the brute's and her own sake. She didn't have the patience at the moment to notice that her voice had gained a small tremble to its' edge.

"Dey wash movin!"

"Only those that were on your spoon…. Going into your mouth…." Galette finished, ignoring Durum's dissatisfied mumbling as she turned back towards the den den mushi on the table, dark rings beginning to appear beneath her eyes.

"…. I see your pain… erhm… _point_ " Smoothie responded earnestly, then continued, albeit a bit reluctant "Sorry for saddling you with him, I assumed you could use some muscle, since you didn't have the time to bring any…."

"Yeah, things got a little hectic after what happened to Mama" Galette agreed "Do you have others out there looking for that treasonous scientist?"

"A few, Tablet, Broye and Diesel are all out in your area, searching for him"

"That's a lot in the same area, are you sure he's around these parts?"

"We got a lead that he's been seen around those parts and if Mama's going to get her giant project completed then we need the Clown" Smoothie's tone spoke volumes about what she thought of working with the scientist, and Galette couldn't agree more, something about the man just rubbed people the wrong way.

"Who's going to be the test subject anyway?" the redhead demanded "hopefully mama wan'ts him to start with something worthless"

"….Tell you what Galette" Smoothie said, her voice a both rushed and hesitating at the same time "I'll call as soon as I know something about the others ok, concentrate on your own mission in the meantime" despite Smoothie's abrupt subject change, Galette didn't press the matter

"Which one, get allies or our new opportunity?"

"Sorry, but… the first one, Mama still haven't decided if she wants that age regression girl…"

Groaning lightly, Galette leaned back in her chair "Understood…"

"Excellent, see ya"

As the den den mushi gave a small click, Galette slumped over the table, resting her forehead on her crossed arms, her eyes drilling into the tabletop

"Why the hell won't she tell me what's going to happen?"

That question would haunt her for the entire evening, and even as she closed her eyes to go to sleep, it peered on the edge of her mind.

* * *

 **(On the** _ **Sunny)**_

For some reason, Nami hadn't been able to talk to Jinbe before dinner.

When they met in the kitchen, he shrugged when asked why:

"First Sanji-san wanted me to categorise and write down all that we'd bought in the town, and then Franky-san needed help with putting up the new table, and then Sanji-san asked me to help with the fish he was boiling, and then he got a little angry with me…."

"You're supposed to use tongs to avoid getting burnt JInbe!" the chef interrupted from behind a small mountain of food, but as Nami noted, it wasn't all about him being concerned with Jinbe.

"When I don't get burnt why need them?" the Fishman defended himself, to the infuriation of the chef "we've got impressionable people on the crew JInbe! Chopper and Luffy and Brook would try and do it in a heartbeat" While Nami doubted that Brook or Chopper'd do that, She could picture Luffy doing it any day of the week.

Nami shook her head as the two men argued "Nevermind Jinbe-chan, we can talk after dinner…" after she'd said it, she looked directly at Sanji "… and hopefully there _isn't going to be any interruptions this time, or else…_ " in a drawn out voice that told the former prince that she knew what he'd been doing amd she didn't like I tin the least.

Dinner was a pretty relaxed affair after that. Sanji sulking a bit after Nami's obvious threat but lived up as soon as the other women onboard entered the kitchen, and especially after he managed to seat himself between Viola and Vivi both dressed in new dresses, which had a lot of frills to them.

Nami sat next to Marguerite, who, despite having been busy sewing most of the afternoon, had plenty of energy to spare, and the navigator found herself becoming fond of the Blonde Kuja, even if she was as energetic as Luffy.

The rest of the crew laughed like crazy, ate the fresh food and drank to their hearts desire (Zoro still hand't found out that their stores of alcohol were quite limited, when he did, Nami had made certain that she had another bottle to coerce him to… well do whatever the crew needed him to do at the time).

After they were done eating and began to leave the kitchen, Nami immediately got Robin to follow her and Jinbe to the study.

"What's this about Nami-san?"

"I'll explain everything when we get a littel away from the others..." Nami answered, while she happily noted that no one seemed to follow them, Usopp going off to tend to his plants, Brook tuning his violin for a early evening number, Chopper pressing Franky's nose to make a large mohawk erupt from the cyborg's head, much to marguerite and Rebecca's astonishment.

Luffy, Carrot and Zoro had a little chat with the mermaid princess, who, much to Nami's joy, had grown more accustomed to the bunny minks' _garchu_ habbit.

Sanji walked next to VIvi, smilling and small talking about this and that "So how's your kingdom?"

"Oh, it's fine, father is a little ill these days, but he's just faking it..." the bluenette responded, only to be interrupted by the dark haired Kuja "wasn't that the man in the chair with wheels? looked rather ill to me"

"Oh Rindo-san, it's really not that bad, he's just trying to get me to marry someone"

"What's _marry_? Could you do it to him?" as the kuja pointed a thumb at Sanji, the chefs' tongue rolled out and his eyes turned into the usual pounding hearts, looking at Vivi like Nami would look at gold. The princess in question, true to form, didn't know what to make of his antics.

Nami merely shook her head as she led her two comrades away for a private chat.

it was not to be so

"Navigator-san, could I have a word?"

Turning, Nami found herself looking at Viola, the older woman smiling enderingly at her

"I'm sorry, but we have somethign important to..." Nami began, before Viola spoke again

"So do I. And I **insist** **_Navigator-san_**."

While the princess smiled, there was nothing about her tone that spoke of friendlyness,

instead it was the voice of one commanding another, but politely.

Almost instantly, Nami felt that it wasn't going to be a good conversation at all!

* * *

 **End of chapter 12**

This one I'm proud of, managed to put down 6000 words in a single day, good times!

Didn't manage to make it as short as I'd like though, instead this here chapter ended on 11.000+ words.

 **Threads** this time around:

 **Strawhats:** butting heads with each other and trying to get along with their new travelling companions.

 **The Royals:** celebrating that their daughters are safe and sound.

 **The Princess hunters** : the captain from earlier is still on the hunt.

 **The mysterious party:** Still being a condescending bastard to be honest, and still not caring for others.

 **The Big Mom Pirates:** causing problems for others in their own hunts. Smoothie has sent out more than just the groups mentioned in the epilogue in the fic preceding this one. A quick reminder of who's oding what:

 **Pekoms and Daifuku:** went to recruit Orlumbus, whom were already a part of the Strawhat Grand Fleet, so no cigar.

 **Tamago:** went to establish contact with Buggy's delivery service for defence purposes.

 **Bavarois:** went to fishman Island to get the pick of the dungeons. It's still Big Mom territory in this fic.

 **Bobbin:** (he's alive in this fic, despite what happened in the anime) went to get some numbers for the Big Mom crew, by recruiting the Foxy Pirates (whom has been thoroughly destroyed in an earlier chapter).

 **Galette and Amande:** Went to Runny Rum Archipelago (as if that's escaped anyone's notice) for some husband/wife hunting. Has recently been reinforced for securities sake, much to their chagrin. Might also attempt to kidnap a prisoner from the local marine base in the future. that one fully depends on Big Mom's whims though.

 **Raisin:** is searching for Caesar Clown (Big Mom still wants giants in the family).

RnR if you'd be so kind.


	13. Chapter 13: What is the unseen?

**Blood ties like Iron chains chapter 13**

 **What is the unseen?  
**

* * *

 **(On the** _ **Sunny**_ **)**

Another day, another thing to do onboard.

Nami yawned, even as she took in her meal, her mind still not being awake.

It had gotten late last night.

With a lot of questions and the time it took to answer them it was natural for it to draw out.

Especially when someone had wanted to lecture her on how she treated her comrades.

 _(last night)_

"I'd like to talk to you about Sanji-kun"

Viola had _politely_ asked Nami for a little chat after dinner and Nami had reluctantly agreed, being more concerned about the chat she planned to have with Jinbe and Robin. But Viola had insisted and Nami had gone with politeness instead of pragmatism though she soon regretted it.

Finding a secluded are of the ship, the girls' quarter, the two began their little chat.

"I can't help but notice that you've been very harsh with Sanji-kun lately" the princess shifted as she spoke, her arms folded, giving Nami the impression of a scolding schoolteacher trying to break up a fight between her students (and Nami had a feeling that it involved her favourite).

"I have" Nami agreed, folding her arms in turn "And that'll continue"

Viola blinked at this, not satisfied "But… Sanji is very sorry about what he did and…"

"I know he's sorry, that's why I still talk to him or even allows him to be on the ship!" Nami steeled her eyes, her gaze forcing Viola to be silent as the navigator continued "Sanji is part of this crew, he's done a lot for us and saved mine and the rests' lives several times…. But I can't forgive of forget about what he did to Luffy in tottoland, what, he, said to us." Nami bit her lower lip, trying not to snap too hard at the woman in front of her, which gave the princess an opening

"He had his reasons, You know that, don't you? Strawhat-san has forgiven him already, and you did something similar once. Doesn't that deserve to be taken into account?"

Nami's eyes widened at this, anger boiling in her gut "I had reasons too, I admit that, but I wasn't part of the crew then, and I hadn't sailed, lived, bled and fought with Luffy and the crew before that. I didn't spit on others' dreams or beat my captain bloody when he wasn't fighting back…. but Sanji did! So you just focus on him and forgive him if you want to, I won't" and with that she left the stunned princess.

Closing the door behind her, Nami had made her way to the study, to discuss the more important subject with Jinbe and Robin.

 _(flashback end)_

Nami had a little bad conscience about her words and tone, but figured that the princess would bounce back soon enough.

Right now, the important thing was to plan what was going to happen over the next few days,

and in their continuing campaign against Kaido...

* * *

 **(on the seas)**

Charlotte Raisin grasped the ringing Den den mushi, still annoyed that the raid on Myron yesterday hadn't yielded a thing.

A little gold and some food, sure, but nothing of note really.

Hopefully this would.

"Whaaaat?" his voice was still filled with the grogginess of being woken too early.

"Hey man, it's me Tablet!" a chipper voice emerged from the snail "Like, I got great news!"

"Hmm-hmm" Raisin started to doze off again, before one of his crewmen nudged him in the side "I'M-UP-I'M-up!" he rambled startled, for a moment he didn't know where he was, then saw that he was on the bridge of his ship, slumped against the railing

"I Know, you're up man, Like, how else could you speak to me?"

"Tablet, why're you calling at this ungodly hour?"

"Because man, like, I got great news!"

"You said that already!" Raisin rubbed his eyes trying to banish the last dredges of sleep. But only managing to turn his eyes red and puffy.

"I found him, like, I found Caesar Clown!"

Raisin immediately stood up, startling the surrounding crewmembers "What! Where is he?"

"Well man, he's currently, like, right next to me! I got him trapped!" Tablet's overexcited voice rung out from the gastropod.

"Already?" Raisin couldn't believe what he was hearing

"Sure, Like, I'm super competent"

"And he can't escape?"

"Nope, got three guys holding him at all times, using haki to keep him down"

"Excellent, where's your position so we can get the heck back to Tottoland, Mama'll be pleased" Raisin smiled happily "Oh, by the way, better knock him out, we don't want him to flee on us now do we?"

* * *

( **on the** _ **Sunny**_ )

"Luffy can we have a word with you?"

Nami had specifically sought Luffy out after he'd had breakfast, it was the time he was most open towards ideas. And hopefully logic.

They were all still gathered around the kitchen table(s), some just finishing off the their breakfast, which had consisted of a mountain of scrambled eggs and several trays piled with toast and bacon. Nami sat on her natural seat, just to Luffy's left side, while Jinbe occupied his right, Robin sitting next to him. The rest of the crew sat here and there, Sanji amongst as many women as possible and Zoro as far away from him as was possible.

"Sure" the captain mumbled in between looking for more food in the kitchen and for some that was unguarded on the others' plates.

"the three of us discussed a few things last night" motioning to the other two on his right Nami "Like when we're going to call and arrange a meeting with our friends fathers'"

Amidst the stream of small protests and complaints from their guests (and resident perverts) Luffy's response could just be heard.

"But they've just gotten here! I wanna have more fun with them!"

"We've just bought supplies and over a third is spent already…" Nami argued, glad to see that Luffy seemed to listen "We can't afford to have them here for long"

"But we'd like to stay for a little longer…" or "Nami please let us stay, it's been so long" some of the women pleaded, while others argued "We can borrow the money from banks, the world government would lend royalty the money" or, "Just threaten them with the wrath of the _Snake Empress_ "

"Luffy-kun" Jinbe started " With all the people looking for our guests, would it not be safer for them to contact their fathers as soon as possible?"

"Luffy we can't get enough women on board this ship!" Sanji and Brook both desperately chimed in, hoping that it'd be a good enough argument for the Strawhat captain.

 _It's as if they don't know him at all…_ Nami thought happily hoping that Luffy put two and two together after her argument

The captain merely groaned, his discomfort clear for everyone "if we don't have that much food, we can't party, less partyis less fun, less fun is less adventure!"

Before anyone could beat her to it, Nami tried reasoning with Luffy again "We can always meet up with them again when we've gotten some more food and money, it's not forever after all is it captain?"

The kitchen was silent, most of the crew and guests remained silent as the head of the ship contemplated the proposal.

Eventually the captain groaned while rubbing his head, as if he had a headache

"Gaaaaah! Ok, we'll call and tell 'em to come get 'em"

While Nami smiled alongside Jinbe and Robin, not all of the crew were agreeing. Though some, like Zoro, didn't seem to care at all. The malcontents (which was most of their guests, plus Sanji and Brook) tried to argue and make Luffy reconsider his stance.

"Why'd you want us to leave Lucy-san?" the pinkhaired Rebecca began, hands folded in prayer while looking at Luffy with big puppy dog eyes.

"We can fish and get food that way!" Vivi argued "Jinbe-san and Shirahoshi-chan could rake them in by the ton no problem"

"We could split with all those we don't need on board Luffy" Sanji exclaimed with a raised hand. Nami had no doubts that he had thought of Zoro when he said this, and perhaps Usopp, both of whom seemed to have the same idea, giving the amorous chef a dirty sideways glance.

"But I want to know more about men"

Most of the crew fell silent at the blonde kuja's words, some just blinking, trying not to think of any lewd associations, which others actively sought out.

It was the dark haired kuja that broke the silence

"Here" and with that she threw the den den mushi over to Nami "Make the call, so we can get on with this"

Some at the table groaned, others looked down sullenly, disappointed at her actions

"Rindo-san, don't you want to stay here with our friends a little longer?" Vivi asked, her eyes pleading.

"Sure I do, but we are just guests and that one" she pointed at Nami "speaks sense, besides" she pointed at Luffy, "He's the captain, he's making the calls, we don't and that's all there is to it"

Nodding her (partial) agreement, Nami held the den den mushi in front of Luffy's face "So you wan't to talk to this elder Nyon, or should I?"

* * *

( **Somewhere in the clouds above the seas, the Sky Island Cielo** )

Not for the first time, he cursed his luck.

And it wasn't limited to his current situation, but also his previous projects, _his family_ , his subordinates (former and current), being cheated of his revenge over his most hated enemy, the lies of the marines, having to deal with some foolish royalty on the way to his sky island and in the end…. _His past_.

Shaking his head violently at the last one, he quickly grabbed his spyglass and looked down from the edge of the sky island.

"Nothing" he swore deeply.

If he couldn't land on a ship or an island, he was done for.

He'd looked forward to a few days of rest and solitude while he gathered what he needed for his future projects, but having his boat shattered upon landing meant that he was now dependent on getting on a ship down on the blue sea to continue his journey.

How he hated being dependent on strangers.

Looking away from the scenery below, he looked up instead.

Even upon the sky islands, the numerous roofs of the world, there was a sky above. At night you could see the stars clearer than anywhere on the Grand Line, the clouds drifted around like the most docile of whales. All the celestial bodies and objects were clearer here, their mysteries open for the initiated to discern (under normal conditions it could be nigh impossible due to numerous natural weather phenomenon, which included drifting sky islands).

Once he'd looked forward to gaze upon them, with some at his side.

But it wasn't night now, and that _once_ was over 25 years in the past.

Another downside to going back to the normal sea was that he had to call Fran and tell her the news.

Why that island didn't get on a paper route was beyond him, most islands in Runny Rum had easy access to news, but not the one that she lived on.

Then again, this news wasn't something they'd write in the Daily News.

Looking down again, he armed himself with patience, it could be a while before a ship emerged down below.

He didn't doubt that he could land without trouble, the question of whether or not the crew had anything he could use after he'd overpowered them, was more prevalent at the moment.

Looking down trough the clouds that normally shielded the Sky Island from view, he smiled

"Aaaahhhhh, _there_ is something I can use….."

* * *

 **(In** _ **Marijois**_ **)**

"So that's where and when you want to meet-nyon?"

"Yes ma'am" the voice trailed out of the snail in front of her. To Nyon's surprise, it was a feminine one, which was not at all unpleasant, since, after meeting him, she didn't have that high expectations to Strawhats' intelligence.

The sounds in the background was a bit confusing though.

"What's going on at your position?"

"Oh, nothing special Elder Nyon" the voice responded peevishly, the speaker trying to hush whomever were causing the noise.

Then another voice emerged from the gastropod, more chipper than the first and far more inquisitive, like that of little child that had been let loose in an art studio.

"Who're you? Is this the old kuja lady? how tall are you? Do you like carrots? How old…" the voice rambled on like a waterfall before the first voice returned "Sorry about that"

Before Nyon could ask what was going on, the first voice started scolding "No Carrot, this is important, you can't garchu her, she's miles away on the Red Line, she's not within jumping distance"

"But I wanna garchu! How does she look? Is she as cute as the other kuja-sans? Does she smoke too? Is her hair long? Does she wear the same kind of clothes like the do?"

Nyon raised an eyebrow. She didn't know what _garchu_ meant, but it seemed to be something physical… as for the rest…

"How about I just tell those kings where it is, and then hang up? Because I'm not going to answer all of that!" she dictated slowly, hoping it didn't need repeating.

"Sounds good" the first voice responded, the voice strained, as if the woman was holding someone back, the muffled sounds indicating that it was the other speaker they were trying to restrain.

And then another voice emerged, one she knew

"Hey old lady, how ya been?"

"I've been fine Strawhat, how about you"

"Can't complain" Luffy answered happily, which only infuriated the first voice

"Big Mom almost killed you!"

"Nami'll do that for me anyway!"

While the pirate captain laughed, and the first voice scolded him, elder Nyon looked over the Strawhats' wanted posters. Finding the one labelled "Nami". It wasn't that the empress had asked her to check up on Strawhats' crew(though she'd definitely ask about it when given the chance), Elder Nyon simply liked knowing who she was talking with.

"Luffy we can't talk too long, Elder Nyon is still in Mariejois! If someone heard about this, it would be a catastrophe for her"

"Ok, see ya old Nyon"

"Bye" was all that Nyon managed to say before the den den mushi clicked and the conversation was over. Scratching her tired old head, Nyon decided two things:

She had to keep an eye on this Cat Burglar, anyone that could speak reason with Strawhat was worth knowing about.

She had to figure out what _garchu_ was.

After further thought, Nyon decided to add an extra point to the list

Tell Boa Hancock about where the princesses and her own guards, Rindo and Marguerite, were. Better before the two returned and told everything they'd seen on Strawhat's ship.

Taking the empress' ideas about Strawhat into account, the last one would without a doubt be the greatest problem of all.

8 or so women in close proximity to the object of Boa Hancocks' affections, was unlikely to make her a happy woman.

* * *

( **Meanwhile, elsewhere** **on the seas, on one of Big Mom's ships,** _ **the Honey Pie**_ **)**

Tablet strolled across the deck like a little golden haired peacock.

He had reason to be, he'd captured Caesar Clown, thus making Big Mom's plans for giants in her army a reality.

Now his ship, a golden yellow and brown galleon of normal size with the Big Mom Jolly Roger flying from the mast and Tablets' name scribbled on the sails (a truly shoddy work that had been completed fast, but Tablet felt that Big Mom wouldn't mind it this time around), was on its way to meet with Raisin so that they could escort the prisoner back to Tottoland.

He was so sure that he'd be rewarded, a promotion to be one of the combatants, perhaps a knight like his senpai Tamago, or Bishop like Bobbin. Perhaps he'd even be put under Commander Katakuri's personal command! (if so he was sure to rub Flampe's nose in it, especially after she'd thrown him out of the fanclub!) He was so ecstatic, he felt like flying on a cloud.

It could be considered ironic that approximately 5 seconds later, his ship was heading into the clouds, because someone dropped a stone tower, many times the size of the Honey Pie in the sea right next to it.

The unlucky part was that no crewmember had been prepared for it, and the ship was going to go down again very soon.

Tablet was too busy screaming to note any of that however, as his ship kept ascending towards the heavens,

not showing any signs of stopping.

* * *

 **(On the sky island Cielo, above the** _ **Honey Pie**_ **)**

His smile widened as he saw the little ship launch into the air like a scared frog, the splash from the tower sending the vessel upwards towards his own location.

If he'd attempted to jump and land on one of the islands nearby, he'd have died, that much was certain, but with a ship meeting him halfway there, fortune was much more in his favour.

However, seeing that the ship belonged to Big Mom, made him shrug:

"I was going to piss that old hag off sooner or later, so why not now?"

And then, tracking the trajectory of the Yonko's ship,

He jumped for it!

* * *

 **(on the** _ **Sunny**_ **)**

After having spoken to elder Nyon, Nami had left the kitchen (and the army of people within) to take a bath, with all that had gone on the last day or so, she hadn't kept to her normal routine at all.

A good long soak would do her good, give her some perspective allowing her to get her mind in order.

Lowering herself into the warm tub, Nami thought back to the chat she'd hat the day before with Robin and Jinbe

 _(Flashback start)_

"So you want to see all of those that could ally with us in the New World?"

"Yes Jinbe-chan, after Tottoland and Big Mom, attacking another Yonko would be suicide without more allies"

"Hmm I suppose that Trafalgar isn't enough for us?" Robin mused as she sat down at the table.

"He might not be enough, we don't know much about him and his crews' strength and we need to have as many cards on our hands as possible"

"There's also the Grand Fleet"

"Who's all over the seas! This Bartholomeo has already gone and ticked off Shanks for crying out loud!"

"True, that was pretty stupid" Robin admitted, before adding "besides, they don't have any navigator so they'd have a ton or problems getting to Wano any way…"

Nami's eye twitched at this revelation, a crew without a navigator were both very stupid and even more lucky than the Strawhats themselves. That and they attacked a Yonko's territory, making that cannibal-guy was a madman to the core.

"Robin, can you tell me all about the other representatives of the fleet?"

"As much as I can Nami, I didn't speak with all of them, but I know a little"

"Good enough" Nami then turned to Jinbe "How much can you tell me about those pirates that used to be under whitebeard, and who's currently on Runny Rum?"

"More than enough to fill several books" the massive fishman simply responded

"Perfect, we might need whomever we meet on the way"

"What are you thinking Nami?"

"We've been lucky with whom we've met so far, I don't want that track record broken because we just blindly trust someone"

"You don't want the crew to fail and suffer huh?" Robin gave her an empathic nod, a small understanding smile playing at the corners of her lips.

Nami didn't need to respond, only nod, and then the presentation went on, hours of explanations of whom would be a good idea to contact aside from the Whitebeard Pirates, all of whom had been thrown to the winds after the Blackbeard Pirates defeated them.

The reason why Luffy wasn't there to hear it all was simple, all three knew that he'd have lost focus after 5 minutes (if they were that lucky), so this was just an orientation meeting, which was just to narrow down whom they thought were the best options for the future.

Most of their discussion concerned the Whitebeard Pirates' old subordinate crews, a majority of which had either taken up service under another Yonko or been obliterated by one of the Shichibukai.

A small summary could be: "…..If it's Amadob, you shouldn't speak too much, he has a problem with women giving orders"

Or

"….Whitey is okay, but I've told you that already, she's kinda whimsical of who she supports though..."

Or

"….Hangan will definitely help us, if he's not busy spoiling his daughter rotten, he sure loves that girl… no he doesn't deal in slaves, he frees them, why do you ask?"

Or

"….Blondie'll join us just for the chance to fight someone wahahaha! He has a deep-set loyalty towards Friends and family, he won't be a problem at all"

Considering that the Whitebeard crew had about 50 subordinate crews, it took a while to get through, and the discussions drew out the second Nami suggested Lola and her crew. A daughter of a Yonko (and one they were enemies with) could be a debateable ally at best, even if Big Mom herself had given her a death sentence.

When Nami finally went to bed, she looked through the newspaper she'd nicked the other day, ( _ **authors note: see chapter 5**_ ) so she could remember _who's who_ of the New World Pirates. She also fell over the article she'd meant to talk to chopper about, that Forest Squid warning seemed like something that might be a good idea to know, but she had fallen asleep almost immediately after reading it.

 _(flashback end)_

Leaning back in the tub, Nami enjoyed the hot water caressing her skin, slowly drawing out the fatigue and the stress that had accumulated within over the past few days. During the hunt sh'ed almost forgotten to enjoy the little things in life. The steam in the room making it impossible to see into the room from the outside. It also gave off a sweet filling scent that, combined with her exhaustion, almost made her fall asleep.

It was wonderful, in every sense of the word.

Yawning and stretching, Nami would've liked nothing better than to surrender and drift into blissful sleep.

Fortune wasn't on her side however, as the door into the bathroom opened up

Startled Nami sat up in the bath "Huh! Who's there?"

"Just me Nami" Nami knew the voice: Vivi "I heard that you had a bath onboard and I felt a little sweaty myself so…."

"Sure, you can join me"

"I hope that goes for the rest too?" Vivi said, slightly nervous

"Wha… how many are you?" Nami dearly hoped that it wasn't all of their guests that were entering at once, the tub had room enough for two to sit and bathe comfortably, not nine (or rather eight, Shirahoshi wasn't able to enter the smaller room). Not to mention, the amount of people that had been onboard for the past two days or so, was starting to give Nami a sense of agoraphobia. The crowded kitchen and main deck could be a drag for everyone on board, even with the new table in place (though Nami had grown far more vexed by the new line to the toilet, especially in the mornings and at night).

"Only me, Rebecca-san, Carrot-san and… Robin…-san" the last one was said a bit reluctantly, Vivi still not all too friendly with Robin, even after Nami's chat with her about the subject, but Nami knew the feeling, she still hadn't forgive Sanji (she knew it wasn't the same situation, but it was the closest she had for the time being, though she highly doubted that Luffy'd ever let someone she (or any of the other crewmembers) had a grudge against join the crew).

Scooting over, Nami allowed the four other women to enter the warm water, making it overflow and spill onto the floor, covering it in a sheet of water, bubbles, soap and bathing salts.

She soon found herself next to the pink-haired niece of Viola, Rebecca, her long pink hair had been looened from its usual braid, hanging loosely into the water, making her appear similar to Shirahoshi in a lot of ways, at least superficially, if what Luffy'd said of her was true, she at the very least knew how to fight. While Nami didn't have much truck with the aunt, perhaps the niece was friendlier, at least of a different view about private thoughts and sticking their nose in other peoples' inter-crew dynamics/grudges.

Aside from Carrot, whom seemed to have the situational sense of a rhino, most oof the women didn't say much aside from how nice it was to have a bath, which was pretty much equivalent to politely, if awkwardly, chatting about the weather.

"So how do you like the Sunny so far?" the navigator began, trying to start an actual conversation, her question aimed, not at her archaeologist friend or the bunny mink, but at the little ex-gladiator next to her. Hopefully the others in the tub would be silent and join in when they saw an opening.

"oh, I've never really been on many ships so…" the blushing girl began, her eyes darting a bit up and down, meeting Nami's eyes one moment and looking at the soapy water the next "everything is so overwhelming… how many ships have a lawn on their decks?"

Nami smiled at her, trying to be as friendly as possible to the nervous girl, _she's not used to bathing with other women like this…_ Nami assumed, not to mention that they hadn't really spoken a word to each other since they saved them from the Long Long Pirates, save for a short introduction when they got on the Sunny.

"I don't think there is any that has that, aside from ours…" she began, a little self-conscious about the sloops' eccentric construction, _like shipwright so ship_ she mused at the back of her mind.

"I think Bartholomeo-kun's ship might have it by now" Robin said, a little smile playing on her lips "He seemed very interested in copying everything that Franky and Usopp said was on the Sunny"

"Wasn't he one of the pirates that helped Lucy-san fight Doflamingo? Why'd you see his ship"

"He was, now he's one of the representatives of the Grand Fleet, those of the crew that were there to see Luffy beat Doflamingo travelled with Bartholomeo to meet with the others at Zou"

"My homeland!" Carrot happily chimed in as she happily blew a handful of translucent bubbles into the air above her, watching them pop against the tips of her long bunny ears.

"Yes, Bartholomeo-kun copied a lot of his ships design from the Going Merry, our original ship, though having modelled the figure head after Luffy is a bit much"

"Really?" Nami blinked as Vivi spoke "Is he that big a fan of the Strawhat crew?"

"You have no idea" Robin continued to smile "He has all of our wanted posters in a gold frame in his own cabin"

"Wauh, that guy is dedicated!"

"You should have seen him when he got our autographs, I'm certain that he and his crew cried tears of joy for a whole 15 minutes"

"Are you serious? No one is that big a fan!" Vivi looked at her in disbelief, her previous unease around Robin slowly dissipating

"You should have seen him when Luffy complimented his food, he almost gave over his entire hoard of treasure" Robin continued, only to be stopped when Nami raised a hand

"Wait… You didn't have any gold with you when you got to Zou… Don't tell me…." Nami looked seriously at Robin before she leaned back her head with a loud groan "Luffy turned him down, didn't he?"

"Yeah"

"He just asked for more food, didn't he?" Nami continued, her eyes closed beneath the hands that she held to her face. Deep in her heart she couldn't be surprised at this, but she hadn't heard about any treasure being given up so readily beforehand.

"He did…" although Nami couldn't see her, she was certain that the raven-haired woman was smiling that little mysterious smile, splitting her between being amused and pitying at the same time. It fit her mood perfectly at the moment.

"Figures. Only two things on that Luffy's mind: Meat and Adventure" Nami scoffed, _it was always like this_ … but when she looked up she was smiling lopsided "Well, what done is done…." Robin and Vivi had stopped smiling at this, both knew how greedy and avaricious Nami were, and how vicious she could be when it came to loosing money or the chance to get gold "…I guess I can just charge him twice the amount he didn't take…" Nami smiled conspiringly at the other women in the tub, her voice as sweet and melodic as a birds' on a summer morning "…Which was how much again Robin?"

The laughter of the 5 women filled the bathroom, the tense atmosphere evaporating like morning mist before the sun. Even Rebecca and Carrot joined in, more than happy to hear that it wasn't as serious as it appeared.

Nami stopped laughing abruptly

"I'm serious, how much did Luffy let slip through our ( _my_ ) fingers this time?!"

* * *

 **(On the ruined wreck of the Honey Pie, 20 minutes later)**

Sighing heavily, his disappointment all too clear, he looked over the destruction he'd caused.

For a bunch of Yonko underlings, their crew had been about as potent as a half-dead rat in a vipers nest. He was willing to say that a lot of it was because of the circumstances however.

First off, he imagined that the majority had already passed out when the galleon slammed back into the seas' surface, perhaps even before that when he'd dropped the tower.

Second, the confusion that had reigned had meant that they didn't even notice him landing on the bridge, where he swiftly took care of the helmsman.

Thirdly, the splash of water when the ship landed, not only shattered most of the hull and divided the panicking crew further, but it also provided a nice mist cover. Going through the fog like aa grim reaper, he'd taken care of the most prevalent threads. Like three men holding unto an unconscious and tied up figure with haki empowered arms, in the middle of the deck.

Scooting up the figure, figuring a prisoner of Big Mom could be quite useful for him somehow, he went on, kicking some little blonde runt hard enough to crack a wall when the makeshift football hit it. From the sounds of moaning and groaning the rat of a man was still alive, though that didn't really matter to him in the least.

Quickly looking over the now cleared deck, he grasped a barrel of water and another which he crammed the prisoner into. Throwing the two containers into a life boat he took a moment to survey the destruction he'd caused.

The similarities to when Fran did house work were mindblowing.

Cursing himself for a fool, he knew had had to call her, though he didn't want to.

He had looked forward to a few days of peace and quiet, but since his boat had shattered as he rode on the _knock up stream_ , he had been forced to descend from the Sky Island a little sooner than he would've liked. Specifically, a full day ahead of schedule.

Grabbing hold of his Den den mushi, he kicked a crate of food into the lifeboat while waiting for the obnoxious woman to pick up her own receiver.

"Hey Fran, it's me, you asked about something yesterday…"

"Yeah, News, I still haven't gotten the World News" the angry voice of Fran erupted from the snail, not bothering with questions about who me were in this case, as she knew perfectly well who the speaker was.

"It's about those princesses" he stated, his voice even, despite that he also knew, all too well, the way Fran would react in a moment.

"Who the hell cares about them?" the gruff voice responded, no respect whatsoever for him, which had been like that ever since they were kids "I wanna hear about…"

"Strawhat found them" he simply stated, and for a glorious moment, the voice in the other end was silent, but he knew it'd return with a vengeance with less than a moment's notice.

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" the voice rang out like a waterfall, the stream of words that proceeded to gush out of the gastropod more akin to salvo of 50 machineguns firing at a steel statue, a porcelain shop and a whole orchestra of bagpipe players rather than intelligible sentences.

However, he somehow got the gist of it: _Luffy's travelling around with 6 young girls?_

Against his better judgement he decided to correct her "Actually, he's travelling around with 8, there's two on his crew remember" the tidalwave of her ramblings managed to rise after that, partially arguing that Nico Robin wasn't a young girl but mostly going on about him being too young for that sort of thing.

He honestly didn't think that Strawhat would do anything with any of them, he didn't seem the sort.

But Fran obviously disagreed with an expected vigour.

"LUUUUUUUUUFFYYYYYYYYYYYY! YOU'RE TOO YOUNG TO HAVE KIDS!"

That was when he didn't bother listening to her anymore and ended the call.

He had more important things to do than be a pretend news reporter anyway. Pushing the lifeboat off the side of the damaged ship he left the battered crew to what ever fate the seas would give them, or Big Mom if they could manage to get back to her.

* * *

 **(meanwhile, on the** _ **sunny**_ **)**

The feeling hadn't come suddenly, it had gradually built up like a small storm in the back of her mind. Most people first realised that a storm was about to hit, when they saw the first flash and heard the rumble.

Nami wasn't inherently familiar with that sort of thing in particular, but it was pretty much the same feeling.

Excusing herself from the others in the tub, the navigator hurried to put on a towel and make for the door.

On the deck there was nothing wrong, neither on the bridge (though at both places she'd been met with confused stares at her choice of clothing, though it hadn't been an unpopular choice to some of the crew, Brook would no doubt come with his usual panty request later on, for which she'd punish him severely).

Finally, Nami reached the kitchen, and from the look of things something was going on inside.

As she opened the door, she found herself seeing something she'd never thought she'd see:

Luffy simply sat there, both hands clasping a sandwich, filled to the brim with meat of different sizes and cuts, which he held in front of him, complete and utterly still. The others, Sanji behind the kitchencounter tending to his pots and pans, Chopper reading at the table and Viola who seemingly had kept the chef company, all of them simply gave the pirate captain confused looks, not knowing what was going on.

Even for Nami it took a few seconds to process what had happened:

Luffy had stopped eating mid bite!

Nami had expected quite a number of things to happen before that sort of event: Hell freezing over and opening a ski resort, the Red Line and the Grand Line changing places, Usopp quitting his lies for good, Franky wearing long pants or Nami herself letting go of all of her money.

The rest of the present crew quickly came to the same conclusion: this wasn't good!

Chopper was the first at the rubberman's side, checking his pulse as fast as he could, a hoof on his forehead to gauge his temperature.

"He's not warm, he's cold, and sweating!" the little reindeer went on, though that much was obvious from looking at Luffy.

His skin was as moist and dripping as Nami's own, and he'd gone pale as parchment. If Nami didn't know better, she'd think he was afraid of something. But there had been no alarm from Jinbe or any of the others, and Nami herself couldn't sense a storm on the horizon.

Nami put a hand on his head, pushing up his hat to reveal his eyes.

Large and shifting as if he'd gotten a concussion, his pupils seemed to be unable to focus.

"What happened?"

"Well Nami-schwaaaa-sama" Sanji quickly corrected himself "One moment he was eating, the next, **he wasn't!** "

"Sanji's telling the truth Nami, nothing weird happened, he just stopped all of a sudden!" Chopper rambled on, still trying to figure out what had afflicted his captain.

"What the hell is going on with him?" she mumbled beneath her breath, worry starting to seep into her voice

"I don't know, his mind's not easy to read…"

Turning around, Nami was a bit angered to see Viola, her hand in its _reader position,_ peering into Luffy's mind like an open book.

But, given the circumstances, she could tolerate it,

But only momentarily.

"Enough of that, What's going through his mind?"

Her tone had been curt and cold, but Viola didn't seem to mind, though Sanji had taken up a safety position behind his stove, hoping that it'd be enough.

"As I said… it's hard to read his mind, it's like a… I don't know…" the princess said, still looking at Luffy with surprise and bewilderment.

"So we have nothing?"

"No Nami… I did see something… but I don't get it…" Viola kept blinking "At least not without context…."

"What is it then, perhaps it'll help us…"

Looking at Nami, Viola couldn't do much better than shrug "it's just a… a duster and… a laugh, I think…."

"Well… try laughing it!"

Shaking her head in disbelief, the princess eventually caved in, took a breath and pursed her lips _"Gushishishishi….?"_

The effect was instantaneous, Luffy jumped back from from his seat and slammed into the wall behind him, dragging Chopper along like a sprinter walking their exhausted dog.

His jaw hit the floor between his feet and his trembling fingers dug into the wooden wall. His face looked like…. It should have, when they had arrived on Thriller Bark and encountered all of Moriah's zombies.

At the least he was responding now, even if he was shaking like a leaf in autumn. Chopper was lay sprawled on the floor head down, but moving, a hoof rubbing his overlarge head.

Then his arm twitched and moved away from the wall, while his hand released its grip on the woodwork. Unfortunately, it was the left arm that moved and the right hand that released its grip. The sound of splitting wood filled the kitchen as the hand pointed over at the table, followed by the sound of Luffy's mouth shutting close with a snap, and that was soon replaced by the captain's, surprisingly level, voice "Why's my sandwich on the floor?"

Nami, mostly due too her previous worry for him, didn't slap him silly (everyone knew she'd get that chance later, so why rush it?).

"Luffy… do you remember anything from a moment ago?" Chopper tried nervously, looking up at his captain, his mouth agape.

"I was eating…." Then shock hit him and his jaw hit the floor again "I haven't eaten it for a **full minute** , what the heck happened?"

If she hadn't been used to his weird food oriented internal clock, Nami would have been as shocked at Viola.

Deciding not to waste time asking the captain again, Nami simply turned to Viola

"Would you watch his mind again for a second?"

Viola obeyed immediately, while Luffy simply looked questioningly at the others, his default expression when someone talked about something he didn't get . Chopper smiled a little as he opened his mouth, fully aware of what Nami was planning "Gushishishi"

This time Luffy curled up in a ball and rocked back and forth while repeating a single sentence like a chant _"Don't' hide under the tables, just run!"_

Raising an eyebrow at his behaviour, Nami turned to Viola again, hoping that she knew something.

"Not much better, a burning building, during an earthquake… that was being hit by a tidalwave…. and a monsoon…." She trailed off looking downwards "Also, there was a woman that kept repeating some names"

"And were the woman beautiful?"

"You know what Sanji-kun, I'll get back to that later" Viola smiled kindly at him, before she continued "The names were: _Fortunato, Fernando and Francisco_ , the last one was repeated several times for some reason…"

"Does any of those names mean anything to you Luffy?"

Seeing Luffy tilt his head and simply look at her blank faced, Nami knew that she might as well have asked him where One Piece was or the location of all three of the Ancient Weapons. Interrogating him would award them absolutely nothing.

The rest of those present seemed to have come to the same conclusion.

And as Luffy stretched his arm and got his sandwich back, there really wasn't much they could do, it was all in Choppers' field now.

Sighing, Nami could only look worried at the captain, despite him looking completely normal, as he consumed his snack in two quick gluttonous chomps, a frantic Chopper at his side, busy checking the captains' temperature and checking vitals like crazy.

Behind her, Nami could hear the door open, but she didn't turn to see whom was entering. They'd ask what had happened soon enough.

And sure as rain they did:

"What the heck happened to my ship?" even if she hadn't been able to recognise the voice, as soon as the cyborg rushed past her to take a look at the damaged wall, no one would have doubted that Franky was in the room.

Next to her, Nami could hear Sanji take up place next to Viola, his breathing heavy, and she could even hear his tongue lopping out of his mouth, going full panting dog mode.

As she turned around, she noted the stare he was sending her, going over her towel-covered figure as if he was an art connoisseur, which in his own mind, he probably was. Next to him, Viola was giving him a small smirk, as if to say _You never change do you?_

However, instead of trying to gain his attention, the oldest princess on board turned to Nami with a smile "I didn't know that you had a tub onboard, can I use it as well?"

"Sure, but we're five in it now so…." She stopped as Sanji began to sway from side to side with a nosebleed, forcing Viola to support him, hugging him closely, which didn't exactly help the already staggering chef. Nami was happy she hadn't mentioned whom, it was that were in the bath with her. No doubt it'd have sent the chef over the edge.

"I'll just use it later, how's that? Sanji-kun seems a bit unwell"

Nami nodded and left the kitchen, shivering a little as the wind hit her, and briefly threatened to rip off her towel, but didn't (much to Brooks' and Usopp's chagrin).

She briefly greeted Shirahoshi on her way back to the bathroom, the large mermaid professing her envy at not being able to enjoy the water with the others. Despite feeling bad for her to be naturally excluded from the fun they were having, Nami hurried into the steamy warmth of the batroom.

As soon as she entered, Carrot tackled her with tight a _Garchu_ -hug

"What happened Nami?"

Nami didn't know how best to answer that one, she didn't want to worry them too much, but she wasn't a huge fan of lying either.

"Nothing you need worry about yet, I just heard something…." Nami sid while patting her head, deciding it was best to delay a long and tedious explanation for the time being.

"Well what was it? I was worried" Vivi complained as Nami broke free of Carrot's embrace and entered the tub again.

"I honestly don't know what it was about, I really don't!" Nami sighed heavily, sinking into the water, almost going under the surface.

When she emerged, the navigator felt only marginally better, scrubbing her face vigorously to try and get the stress and worry and more stress to leave by getting a clean face.

It didn't work well enough, but fortunately the other girls in the tub changed the subject after a brief, silence, devoting their chats to another member of the Grand fleet, _Leo,_ the adorable dwarf (which Rebecca and Viola sewed little dolls' clothes for) and his dreaded dinghy, the _Usoland._

Somewhere else on the ship, Usopp couldn't help but feel that someone was laughing at him (and for completely justifiable reasons too (while somewhere in Mariejois, Leo was experiencing something very similar, though his was more a feeling of rage rather than of deepfelt paranoia)).

* * *

 **(On the seas, on a heavily modified ship)**

Ramming him fist into the railing again, he looked out over the sea.

Their hunt had yielded them nothing!

Even their generous bribe to the town of Myron hadn't heled them much so far, the only report they'd gotten, told of the Strawhats dropping by, and there was no way he was ready to meet them, it was far too soon for that! And If he didn't get that mermaid and make a trade with her father, then he might never be able to.

"Captain, perhaps you shouldn't go about smashing the ship, you know what damage you can do…" his second said, a bit of a chastising tone to his voice, but also a teasing one.

"Not now man, this isn't my day…" his fingers drummed over the railing, until he finally gave it a final tap, and slammed down his palm, flat on the wood.

"You got a plan capn'?"

"We've lost the trail… for now, but somebody is bound to know where that mermaid is… At Runny Rum Archipelago!"

"We'll set the course immediately captain, if someone got that little pampered girl, then we'll just take her from 'em"

Both laughed as they moved towards the bridge, their new course set.

* * *

 **(about half-an-hour Later, on the** _ **Sunny**_ **)**

"So there's nothing wrong with Luffy at All?"

"No I'm telling you Nami, I can't find anything at all!" Chopper responded for the umpteenth time, his patience starting to wear thin "It was just a fluke"

Not one to discuss something with the resident medical expert, Nami sighed and straightened up. Luffy had already left the infirmary for the kitchen, which was too normal to arouse any worry for his health, mental or physical.

"Should we join him?"

Nodding her affirmation, Nami held out her arms so that the little reindeer could jump up and get an easy ride to the kitchen, the two of them laughing all the way.

When they entered they found that Luffy wasn't eating anything, instead looking bored into the air, his trademark hat askew. He barely looked up as Nami walked in with Chopper.

That didn't stop Rebecca from pinching his cheek and pull, just too see how elastic the pirate actually was, a small smile grazing her lips, while the other hand tried to stifle a giggle.

Next to her, Vivi was leaning over the table, laughing at the sight as well. In the background she could hear Brook playing his violin. Robin was lounging on the couch, a book in her hands (while a dozen of her other hands was holding onto Brook as a precaution). Carrot going through an old newspaper, on occasion going "The seas are a wonderland" and gushing over some marvel or great battle that had been fought in the New World. Like Nami, all the women present were still damp from the bath earlier, mostly wrapped in towels and just relaxing.

Something about the whole scene felt weird.

Five women laughing and having fun, damp and lightly dressed…

In the Sunny's kitchen.

There was no chance in 20 million, that Sanji would leave them be.

Though the whole scene made her raise an eyebrow in surprise, Nami reasoned that his perv-voyancy was off for the time being.

Especially since Viola and the two kuja were also unaccounted for. If Sanji had been anywhere near Shirahoshi, Nami would have seen him when she'd been out on the deck.

Shrugging, the navigator down with the others at the table, joining in the conversation (and the teasing of Luffy) which seemingly revolved around what Vivi had experienced on board of Cavendish's ship, the _Narcissism Flagship_ , or as Robin would correct her, _the_ _Sleeping white horse in the forest_.

Some of the things that the first division commander did, just to sleep, made Nami doubt that they'd have much use of him. Though it seemed to her, shed' get along swimmingly with that first mate, both having a captain that did things seemingly on a whim, though Nami didn't feel so certain about her more servile personality.

But that could be postponed until they actually met in person, if that ever happened.

Right now, Nami had to consider what it was that scared Luffy so much.

And what that might mean for the crews' future?

* * *

( **On the seas** )

As was to be expected, the lifeboat he'd taken from the Big Mom Pirates was a horrible seagoing vessel, its meagre sail not managing to catch the wind properly.

Fortunately, he could remedy that. Control of One's devil fruit was a marvellous thing indeed.

A groan from one of the barrels made him sit up, walking over to the one that he'd stuffed the prisoner in.

Lifting the lid and peering down, he was surprised by whom he'd _liberated_.

"As I live and breathe, Ceasar Clown…."

Coating his fist in haki, he punched the semi-conscious scientist's lights out.

Putting the lid back on, he smiled as he retrieved one of the scrolls that he'd stolen from the fools in Germa kingdom. Now the blasted paper had become useful all of a sudden.

But now he had a different problem, he'd have to ditch the crazed weapons supplier at some port for him to be of some use to his future plans and stratagems.

The man's simple weaknesses were well known, so controlling him shouldn't prove too hard. Just give him beautiful women in abundance and the feeling that he was the one in control and he'd be easy to manipulate. If not, the twisted little creature could be dealt with just as easily.

But, a scientist required a lab and a steady influx of resources to perform his craft. Permanent facilities.

The question: was where?

The Sky Islands were out of the question and he'd create too much chaos on Runny Rum, then again, he could always just conquer one of the Germa's snails. Considering his previous visit to the kingdom, and how that had gone, it shouldn't prove too hard to take over the entire country. But that, in and of itself, wasn't necessarily the best long-term plan.

That imbecile to Doflamingo had proven that for all the world to see and learn from.

And he himself was, despite his own pride, or, as some would be stupid enough to say (the especially stupid would do it to his face) his own arrogance, not adverse to learning.

As he opened the keg again and punched the scientist once more for good measure, he couldn't help but think back to the days before…. Even before Roger's death, 26 years ago, when he'd been concerned about other things than power and war.

Back when family mattered more to him.

Thoughts, which inevitably led him to think of when he'd see fit to visit Fran again, although for the time being he hoped that it was after she encountered Strawhat again.

If he knew her right, and he did, she definitely wouldn't approve of his crew (not the women at least), nor the kind of person that old relic Garp had turned him into.

Though he guessed that he couldn't blame one fool for making another….

* * *

 **(on the** _ **Sunny**_ **)**

"Oh come on Sanji-kun, show me!" Viola pleaded with the chef.

Sitting for themselves at the back of the bridge, their only company being the crews' new helmsman. Jinbe tried his best to ignore them, leaving them to look at the midday clouds and the way the waves reflected the rays in a display of colours that could only be found in a pile of gems. The sparkling display of the spectrum of light clashed against all the little green, sand coloured island chain that they had entered, the shiny and the pale, the divine and the mundane.

Viola knew she didn't have to plead with Sanji, he'd do quite a lot for her even without being asked first, but it felt funny to ask and flirt with him at the same time.

"I don't' know Viola-chan, I think the other girl-chans wouldn't like that I showed you the bath, just when they're in it"

Viola knew that he feared angering Nami further (even though he'd relish the sight himself), she also knew, thanks to her devilfruit abilities, that the temperamental navigator was currently telling her darling niece Rebecca, and everyone else in the kitchen, about one time when they travelled to a sky island and fought a logia user with a god complex. Rebecca was listening with great fascination, her head rested on one hand, eyes shining so beautifully, like her mother Scarlett's, when she heard about Kyros and how he'd protected the country's inhabitants that particular day. The bunny Mink was the same, while the bony musician seemed to take it all in stride. The blue haired princess was taking it as a tall tale, and Viola would too, if it hadn't been for the gold pillar from that fabled region which Bellamy had brought as a gift for Doflamingo (Viola had seen that ostentatious piece of metallurgy, it was massive!). The mere thought of it made her shiver with the possibilities of what her father could use the wealth for, at least when they found the blasted thing in the ruins of their nation.

"I can see that they're all in the kitchen now… so what's stopping you Sanji-kun?"

Smiling at her, the disowned prince rose and with a smile offered her a hand, escorting her past Jinbe, who, very briefly, looked after the pair, one eyebrow raised and a small blush on his cheeks.

Viola knew, and prudently choose to ignore it, instead focusing on the chef at her side.

 _He deserves to have a treat, he's had a very rough patch with his family and then Navigator-san's reaction to his attack on Strawhat-san_ … Viola thought as she walked arm in arm with the former prince towards the bathroom.

"I like you Sanji-kun…" she started, noting the blush on the Chef's cheeks spreading like wildfire "…so I'd like to call you _Sanii_ from now on, is that okay?" naturally it was, Sanji would have agreed to walk through a lake of acid naked if any beautiful woman had asked him that "you can call me something sweet too if you like…"

"Vi-vi-v-vio…." Sanji stuttered, his heartbeat racing against his imagination, trying to come up with something the ex-dancer would like.

"I would object to being called violent…" Viola teased, before musing "even though it would fit what I did to you most perfectly…."

"That? **that** was nothing Viola-schwann"

Viola knew that he meant every word, he'd probably say the same about that three-eye tribe girl Big Mom, and his bastard of a father, had wanted him to marry, all for sealing some stupid alliance between their terrible families.

"How about…." Sanji mused, his brow slightly furrowed, until his eyes lit up with a spark of joy "Violet?"

Viola cringed a little at that one. It was the same that Doffy had used after they'd been… She cringed again, a blush appearing on her cheeks, which Sanji noted

"You like it?" he beamed, his mouth widening in a smile that almost saw him loose his cigarette.

Again, Viola cringed at the memories and shook her head sadly "I think you can come up with something better Sanii"

Letting him lead her to the bathroom, the chef pondered some more while she had some thoughts of her own. All of which concerned _her great secret and shame, she couldn't never let anyone know about it…. Doflamingo could rant about it all he wanted, no one believed him, not even his closest subordinates had believed everything he'd say, But if she talked about it, ever gave an admittance to it… it'd be a completely different story._

And so she wanted to keep quiet about it at all times. Avoid any reference of even slight hint that she'd ever even….

"We're here Viola-schwann"

Sanji's words brought her back to reality.

As he opened the door, Viola was greeted by the most charming little bathroom that sh'ed ever seen (the keyword was **little** , she'd seen much bigger and more luxurious ones back home and in Marijois (built in for the royal houses' convenience of course, most with a view to the skies and the nearby forest)).

"Oh It's beautiful!" she chimed "do you think that it'd be a problem if I used it?"

"Not at all!" Sanji beamed, his mind already giving him a vivid picture of what that'd look like, making him radiate enough heat for Viola to break a sweat.

"What's with all the water on the floor though? I can't imagine that I'm supposed to bathe before going into the tub?" Viola cocked an eyebrow at the overflowing floor, bubbles and soap floating on the surface, filling the room with a subtle fragrance of flowers.

"I can clean it if you'd like!"

He is always so eager to please…. Viola thought with a grateful smile as the chef stepped into the room while smiling at her, which made him promptly trip and fall flat.

"Oh no! did you get hurt Sanii?"

"No, not at all Viola-schwann" Sanji responded, a large swell appearing on his face, covering most of the forehead and the cheek, still he was smiling at her like nothing had happened, and the smile widened ever more a moment later.

But… Viola noted, it wasn't her he was looking at anymore.

Turning around she saw why.

Behind her, only wrapped in towels, stood the two Kuja pirates.

Viola was both vexed and surprised to see the pair. Mostly the former since it disturbed her plans for a private moment with Sanii.

"The two of you are going to take a bath I see?" she smiled at the pair, the blonde, obnoxious to Viola's vexation, happily nodding her consent, while the dark haired (that Viola didn't get that well along with, but the pair of them could at least be civil), simply responded "That's not a problem is it? We've already asked both Strawhat-san and Nami-san and neither were against it"

She then bent forwards, her face almost level with Sanji's "Could you spare a smoke chef-san? I've unfortunately run out"

All Sanji could do was watch her, specifically her figure, nodding appraisingly, his face growing more and more crimson. Taking it as a yes, the dark haired Rindo took the packet from his pocket and lit a cigarette.

As she straightened up, Sanji still gawking at her, pounding hearts for eyes at the trio of beauties in front of him, Rindo turned to Viola

"You were going to take a bath as well I assume?"

"Yes indeed, me and Sanii were…" Villa began, only for Rindo to cut her off

"Oh, You were going to take a bath together?" and despite her blush and waving hands Viola didn't manage to stop Rindo in time "There should still be room for the two of us in there with you…. Considering that since they were five in here before us, it should be feasible" on the floor Sanji was starting to sweat profoundly, the thought of all the women in that one little tub driving him crazy, a bonanza of beauty welling in his mind. Viola had seen that in some men before and got the gist of it, but neither of the kuja understood that, as the blonde Marguerite proved, by her next words:

"But if we're all going in, then we might still have to squish tightly together"

Then there was a **CRASH!**

* * *

 **(on the seas)**

For a moment she trembled, rage filling her up like a balloon, no to bursting point, but neither to full capacity, juuuust enough for it to be visible.

Both she and a half-full balloon were a sad sight, neither ever coming to their full right: one as an object of joy at parties, brightening up the room and making kids squeal in happiness, while the other would be a raging harpy, that'd be able to cow a shichibukai or go 1-1 with one of the ancient weapons on a particularly bad day.

Hell had no wrath like a woman scorned…. Or having gotten the feeling that her partner was looking a bit too longingly at other women (which in a lot of ways is the same).

"Is something the matter Pudding-chan?" the subtle voice of Stussy asked from the other end of the couch, a book in her lap.

"…Y-yes, erhm.. I mean NO. Nothing is wrong, nothing at all" She hurriedly responded

Tilting her head at the younger woman, Stussy cocked an eyebrow and a smirk emerged on her lips

"Very well then…." She cooed " By the way, who's _**Jiji**_?"

A small giggle escaped Stussy's lips as Pudding trembled all over, looked down and blushed until her face was redder than a strawberry.

"Don't worry about it… us women sometimes feel that way…." She said knowingly, watching Pudding as the girl turned and watched her attentively "… Especially when a man had wronged us most seriously…. Does it again…"

Pudding looked down, sad and angry at being reminded of Sanji again. She didn't know what had made her feel that way, just that Sanji was doing something that he **really** **should NOT** **!** and it had madee her tremble in anger. Perhaps he'd been flirting with that navigator on his crew, that normal eyed navigator with that long beautiful orange hair and those nice big… or perhaps it was that _Devilchild_ that was also on the Strawhat crew (normal eyes and her wanted poster made her look so mysterious and sexy (after her engagement to Sanji had been made official, she'd caught several of her brothers gawking at that Nico Robins' poster for ages)) or even that little bunny mink with the huge appetite… all of her speculations were making Puddings' head spin!

How Stussy could tell what was on her mind, just by looking at her, was a mystery though.

Only one way to find out, and distract her host at the same time:

"Forgive me for asking… but have you ever felt such yourself?"

The older woman didn't smile or tilt her head anymore, in less than a heartbeat it snapped up in an upright position, her eyes growing cold like newly drawn steel, her hands balling into fists. The biggest change, however, was in her face, it grew weary, aging before Pudding's eyes, like it had before, when they'd talked about the mysterious benefactor of the Strawhat pirate crew (which she had yet to tell her siblings about, since either Stussy kept being a good host and entertaining Pudding at every opportunity, never leaving her alone, or the butler kept creeping up on her to offer a refreshment ( **callback to chapter 7** )).

She looked middle aged, tired and weary, looking back at something from long ago. Her butler had also noticed it, and had made himself scarce as fast as possible, a fearful expression on his face. Eventually Stussy turned back to her usual young appearance.

"Once..." she smiled at Pudding, who could almost feel the fangs that were beneath that mysterious stare of her host "And… I made certain to punish him _**ac-cor-ding-ly!**_ " the last words had been drawn out in a way that made Pudding think of a guitar being strung too tightly, almost to the point of breaking. At which point it would catch fire and every person that had ever heard it would catch it too, and those who knew them would combust as well and so on to forever.

It was the type of tone, that'd make most people want to face Big Mom on a normal day, rather than be near the person who spoke. Pudding certainly felt that way, and so quickly changed the subject, her voice shaky and fast, hoping that Stussy would be distracted

"But… I've been thinking about who you said couldn't be Strawhats' benefactor…."

* * *

 **(back on the** _ **Sunny**_ **, in the kitchen** )

Luffy's head snapped up as if a pistol had been fired. Nami had just enough time to tilt her head at him and begin to open her mouth to ask what was wrong, when she heard it too.

A loud crash that came from the outside, swift as one of Nami's own thunderbolts, the sound of breaking stone and splintering wood heavy in the air.

When the crew got out on the deck, Nami's jaw nearly hit the railing at the sight before her eyes.

The bathroom with the tub had been obliterated, torn asunder, wooden panels splintered, pipes bent and broken stones and tiles lying all over the deck, A shocked Viola and the two Kuja (both in bathing towels), looking out from the sad remains of the bathroom.

A blood trail could be followed from the trio, ending on the other end of the Sunny, with Sanji, looking happier than ever, even if his nosebleed had turned him paler than bleached chalk.

Looking from Sanji to the trio of women in the now demolished bathroom, all three looking at the chef with shocked expression (two of whom weren't wearing much garments), Nami didn't even need an explanation of what had happened. The rest of the crew however, a furious Franky in particular, weren't so perceptice.

"Oi you bastard, what the hell do you think you're doing?" the shipwright yelled at the happy and unconscious Sanji, tears starting to flow from the cybrogs' eyes "I don't have enough materials to repair all of that right now!"

The only thing that saved Sanji from getting throttled by a very angry shipwright, was Chopper, stepping in between the charging cyborg and prone chef "Stoooop Franky! Can't you see he's almost dead! He needs medical attention!" after which he yelled, even more panicking "Someone get a doctor!"

"That's you!" Franky shot back still trying to get past the small reindeer.

"More doctors then! And a bloodbank!" the doctor howled, shifting into his strong point and carrying the now very anaemic chef off to the infirmary.

Franky was left to look at the devastation, his metallic form starting to shake a little a low whistling sound coming from his tightly pressed lips.

"What happened?" a voice yelled next to Nami. She knew the voice and its' owner well and was not surprised that Luffy didn't get what was going on, that Rebecca and Vivi asked the same was understandable too.

"Well….." Viola responded, a hand scratching the back of her head, a drop of sweat running down her forehead.

"I asked if we could join them in the bath and he started… flash-bleeding…" Viola turned to Rindo with a horrified expression and a deep crimson blush, looking like she was about to protest but didn't know how. She hadn't the time either as Rebecca was looking at her aunt with an even deeper blush, but as Nami noted her voice didn't carry notes of outrage: "Aunt Viola-san!"

"I just had him show me where the bathtub was!" the aunt responded hands flailing in protest, her face taking a burning shade of red.

"I asked if you were there for a bath, you said you were" Rindo simply responded, the deadpan expression still on her face.

"I was speaking for myself! Sanii just showed me, that's all!"

While the rest of the crew looked blushing at the trio, Nami couldn't help but giggle to herself, _Sanii? really?_

"Uuuuhhhh, Rindo, I think we're to blame for this one …." Marguerite said slowly, a thoughtful finger on her chin.

"Hmm…. I think you're right on that one…" the dark-haired kuja responded her pose mimicking her comrades' "We apologize for our misconduct then…." Bowing in front of Viola, the princess stood stock still, only a twitch appearing in one of her eyes, the telltale signs of a person that were about to give up, and then not doing it.

"How are any of us getting clean now?!"

Nami found it all quite delightful, even though Luffy was starting to hyperventilate next to her.

"What's wrong Luffy?" she managed, not understanding anything, usually he'd laugh this kind of thing off, being worried about anyone's usual antics didn't seem like him.

"With Sanji in the sickbay, who's gonna cook?"

Nami made an internal facepalm, she hadn't thought of that, with Sanji out of commission, she was one of the few that could cook, and for so many!

What was worse:

was that they didn't have enough to pay her!

* * *

 **(In Germa Kingdom)**

"So it's all settled with a meeting place then?"

"Yes Neptune-dono-nyon" the voice of elder Nyon "Runny Rum Archipelago, in a few days time"

"Thank you, that is excellent news" the merman howled into the den den mushi, which on the other end in Marijois came out as a deafening cacophony.

Turning to his colleagues, he shared another glass of wine with them before turning towards the bedridden Cobra, the ever vigilant Pell at his side at all times.

"King Nefeltari, you'll get to see you daughter soon, hang in there, not just for your daughter's sake, but for your kingdoms'"

He received no response, the Alabastan king too weak to talk for the time being, yet the desert king's eyes still shone with the vigour of a tigers, even if it was caged.

Hopefully, he'd make it till they reunited with their daughters.

* * *

 **(On the** _ **Sunny)**_

"I can see a ship!"

Luffy's face lit up as he pointed from the stern towards a small dot in the horizon, barely visible between the myriad of little islands, mountain peaks that rose form the sea and odd formation that Nami could only think of as risen reefs that had turned to stone.

Looking through the spyglass Nami could see it much clearer, the dot was indeed a ship, a galleon to be precise and bearing a flag she knew all too well.

"It's one of Big Mom's ships!" Turning to Jinbe, she was glad the fishman was already changing their course

"Let's fight 'em!" Luffy called out, standing up and, even from the bridge, Nami could hear his knuckles crack. It didn't take much thought to imagine him smiling, looking forward to the battle to come.

She could also imagine how hard it'd be to convince him not to do what he wanted.

"NO! we can't do that!"

"Yeah Luffy!" Usopp chimed in "We can't endanger our guests (and especially me)!"

"But we haven't fought any one for days!" the captain called back, Zoro voicing his support (both liked a good fight and after days of inactivity it was inevitable that either would jump on the chance for a scrap).

"I don't think it's a good idea to fight them captain, swordsman…" Robin interjected "If you'd listen to my suggestion, I think…. _mostly_ everyone will be satisfied…."

* * *

 **(on the seas)**

"Faster! The sooner we can get to Tablet the better!"

Raisin smiled as his order was carried out, the crew on this ship being professional and diligent in their chores, and whatever their captain had decided.

Still he was more than a bit peeved.

He'd called Tablet to hear how far they'd come, but no one had answered his calls.

If something had happened to the diminutive man, Raisin would be held accountable, especially of something had happened to the prisoner!

* * *

( **On the** _ **Sunny**_ **)**

He swore deeply and meant every word.

Being left behind on the Sunny while the others were out doing the exciting things, could make any man furious. And Zoro was furious a lot these days. Half a dozen women on board, few of whom seemed to be able to handle themselves was one thing, their little squabbles were something he could sleep from, even when the shitty chef had destroyed the bathroom, he'd been soundly asleep. What irked him was that it felt like his stores of Sake was disappearing rapidly and there was no restocking in sight, six more mouths to fill was bound to have something to do with it.

That, and he hadn't fought anything for days, though it felt like weeks, not even weirdo eyebrows had provided any sport in that time.

Watching over the guests and having Franky steer the ship into some small inlet where they could anchor up and wait for the other.

That there was a forest that could entertain them (and provide timber for Franky's repairs, which the chef had been responsible for (Zoro didn't care that the Kuja said it was their fault, he'd take any chance to tick off Sanji)).

"Okay, let's settle here, Franky, you can get that wood alone right?"

"Sure can, I'm super productive this week"

"Brook, you stay here with pervy-cook and Chopper, guard the boat"

"'Kay"

"What about me Zoro?"

"You're with me and Carrot, Usopp, we'll do the guard thing, and explore a little at the same time…" the bloodthirsty grin on the swordsman's face was the polar opposite of the look of dread that came over the snipers'. Carrot jumped in excitement at the change to go sightseeing.

"I'd like to stay here if that's all the same to you?"

"If you want Vivi, one less person to watch out for"

"Are you always this cold swordsman-san?" he dressrosan princess asked him, not with ill intent, but her voice didn't lack an edge. Perhaps because he'd suggested they could keelhaul Sanji as punishment for damaging the Sunny (and for fun).

"You got a problem with it, you can stay too" turning to the others' neither his face or his tone changed "If there's nothing else, let's get moving!"

Behind him, Zoro was vaguely aware of Shirahoshi squealing in anticipation somewhere behind him, the mermaid being all too excited about finally getting to see a real surface forest (though she also spoke about one in Marijois that was much different from the one they were entering).

Walking determinedly into the undergrowth, Zoro kept seething about why it wasn't him that was out spying on the Yonko's ship?

* * *

 **(in the Submersible III beneath the waves)**

"Why did you want me with you again Robin?"

"Why simple, you're better at steering this than I am, Nami"

"And why did you want to go as well Robin?"

"I am better at spying than most"

"And why Jinbe and Luffy?"

"Our captain was cheated from a good fight the other day, and this will entertain him, Jinbe-san is a great protector beneath the water, so he was of more use here than elsewhere"

"And you're sure it'll help us later on if we eavesdrop on them?"

"Positive"

Sighing, Nami hoped that she was right. She hadn't been the most enthusiastic, when it came to this spymission, snooping around Big Mom's business, just so they could anticipate what would go on when next they encountered the monstrous mother and her brood of descendants.

But, she mused, even if this little trip turned out to be a waste of time, at least they could enjoy the scenery, and beneath the waves it was a whole other world.

Nami was excited to see, that she'd been right about the giant petrified reefs, beneath the surface there were far more of them and they were beautiful!

Clad in a dozen different colours Nami was delighted to see the multitude of species that dwelled under the water. Schools of fish, she'd never seen before, danced around drifting turtles and playing dolphins all congregated within the of the corals, in between the humongous sea anemone and the floating kelp strands.

 _Lucky_ , Nami thought _, looks they don't have a care in the world_.

What really caught her attention in the gigantic reef however, was when they'd turned another island.

Part of the reef had been absolutely demolished, huge chunks of coral shattered into rubble and sharpened stone spires beneath the waves

and she was particularly surprised to see by what:

A huge pile of stone rubble had recently smashed into the seabed. Nami was further surprised to see that the stones had too many right angles to not be from some humongous structure, a theory only affirmed by the arches and holes in the stone that could very well have been windows.

Her companions were likewise looking at the ruin with shocked awe.

Tearing her eyes from the sight below, Nami looked up instead

Near the surface, Nami could see the ship from before, had seta direct course towards another ship. Jinbe was hot in pursuit but made no sign that the big mom ship was attacking. Silently, stealthily, the former shichibukai neared the ships, intent on listening in on whatever conversation they were going to have.

Nami turned to Robin

"Is he saying anything?"

"Only that I've made him look ridiculous"

Nami giggled, the sight of Robin growing a pair of human ears on the sides of Jinbe's head was as odd as it was endearing, which the fishman had been very self-conscious about, trying to hide the behind his golden sideburns (it didn't help).

Remaining silent (and putting a hand over Luffy's mouth to silence the worst of his protests) Nami let Robin concentrate on what ever was being said on the ships above, waiting for the archaeologist to tell them everything she heard.

Hopefully, it didn't spell more trouble for them.

* * *

 **(meanwhile on the surface** )

"What the hell happened here?" Someone yelled so loud that Jinbe had no trouble hearing it. Pressing himself close up against the hull of the ship, he could hear what could only be identified as Charlotte Raisin talking to some subordinate. Whom, Jinbe didn't know, but he was certain that the name would come up eventually.

"Like, man… I don't know! One moment, like, everything is super and I'm gonna like get promoted and get to serve under commander Katakuri and everything, and then man, like the next second, something slams into the sea from above and makes this, like, huuuuge tidal wave that messed up everything, like…" a voice rambled out loudly, the waterfall of words making even the crash of the sea seems silent in comparison, and far less frequent "…then there was all this spray and fog and everything, and man you won't believe what happened next! Like, there was something that just killed some of my men, like, it was some sort of terminator! He smacked me into the wall of the ship like I was a flea man! And then he took one of our boats and made some den den mushi call, like, man, like he didn't even think that we we're here! And he took Caesar too!" _(In the Submerge, Nami and Luffy both scowled at the name)_

"Tablet, slow down! I can hardly keep up" Raisin raised his voice significantly, making the panicked Tablet shut his mouth instantaneously.

"There was a tidalwave out of nowhere, this is the New World, so that's not uncommon, but someone boarded one of Mama's ships and slew several of your crew and abducted Caesar Clown… That's not just uncommon, it's madness."

"I'm with you on that one man! Guy was crazy!"

"And… then he called someone, who?"

"He never used a name, just told someone that… like, man, it was super weird! He said that Strawhat…" he trailed off for a moment lost in thought, letting Raisin say something for a change. (in the submersible, Nami and Robin paid extra attention now, the same with Jinbe on the side of the ship).

"Strawhat? What does he have to do with anything?"

"I don't know, but that attacker said that he had those missing girls!"

"The missing princesses? Are you certain?"

"Like, I'm super positive man! Guy said it, clear as day, and that other voice didn't like that one bit, like NOoooo sir! Sounding like a storm hitting another storm and birthing an earthquake! I didn't hear why, things were, like, getting kinda blurry at that point man!"

"Hmm, better report this to Mama, it could be important…. We better be on our guard while we get this ship repaired…" he paused, raised an eyebrow and scanned the ship before adding, his voice low and inquisitive "Why's it called the _Honey Pie_ anyway?"

"I don't know…" Tablet admitted, before mumbling "Yours is called the _Sultana Triffle…._ "

(((((((((((((((((

 **(on the** _ **Shark Submerge III**_ **)**

Robin swallowed as she heard the last part.

As she told Nami and Luffy she could see the surprise being all too evident on their faces.

"How the…. How could anyone know that we got the princesses?"

"I don't know Luffy…." Robin answered, a hand scratching her chin thoughtfully "…but whomever it was, they sure know how to make an impact!"

"That's for sure…." Nami said, looking down at the ruin in the reef below, having a bad feeling about what was going on behind the scenes without their knowledge.

"Let's get back, I don't think we're going to hear much more" Nami muttered, turning the submersible around "Is Jinbe ready to go too?"

"He was practically saying the same thing a moment ago" Robin began "He's already on his way towards us"

"Hope he can keep up, I don't want to be around here for much longer"

"Aren't we going to fight them?"

Neither woman spoke, only giving each other a look, mentally debating who should tell him a big resounding no.

* * *

 **(meanwhile on the forest island)**

"this is marvellous!" Shirahoshi droned on for the umpteenth time, looking at the multitude of trees that rose majestically from the ground in a dozen different shapes. Some stood like normal trees, while others twisted and turned as if they were stings in a bundle, going this way and that, and if pulled, would instantly tighten into a knot.

The wonder shone though her eyes at the sight of all those trees.

They were magnificent, the sight of them was breath-taking, the way the leaves and needles moved in the wind, how the crowns only let the smallest amount of rain or sunlight come in from above, the humidity that was held in by the thick boughs and intertwining branches, or the scent, of things that she'd never even heard of before, things that the little furry surface dweller, the mink, had called moss and flowers.

Shirahoshi had felt like a little child when she'd touched one of the trees.

She'd touched the ones in Marijois naturally, but here, they weren't smooth, they were rougher than even Megalo's skin and so much more uneven. When first she'd touched it, she'd withdrawn her hand as if stung, the roughness scaring her, as did the warmth it possessed, but then only wanted to get the true feel of the big bough, so much larger than herself.

The others had given her a fair share of odd stares from her behaviour, but that wasn't surprising, they were used to trees and had seen them up close, Shirahoshi was still getting used to the way the sun felt when it wasn't being filtered through a tree beneath the Red Line.

She was both afraid and excited at the sights and smells that surrounded her. She wished she had Luffy-sama or Nami-sama with her, but they had to protect them from something else, so she knew that they were guarding them from pretty much anything.

"Hey, look over here!"

Turning towards Marguerite-sama's voice, Shirahoshi was glad she called out.

Before her eyes was perhaps the most adorable forest lake, surrounded by moss-covered rocks, little water plants she didn't know the name of and an abundance of little smoothly rounded stones. It made it easier to slide down to the shore.

"hmm, this gives me an idea…"

"What is it Viola-sama?" Shirahoshi asked, curiosity shining out of her eyes.

"Well, back on the ship, I didin't get to have a good soak so….."

"You'd bathe here?"

"Why not? This little lake seems deep enough for even you to have a good dip, and having been cramped up on the deck can't have been pleasant and after all that work you put into dragging us around you must still be tired, no?"

A slight affirmative nod was all that Shirahoshi could give in response. Trutfully she had been more tired them she ever had before (it was very limited what exercise could be done when you were locked up in a tower for years on end) and a little rest where she could stretch out was more than appealing to her.

"If you want to have a dip, I can tell the boys to not come looking" barely had Carrot said it before she jumped off, her bunny legs carrying her away in an instant, leaving the princesses and Kuja alone.

"So who's in?"

Shirahoshi blushed a little as the older woman stripped and descended into the water "oh this is heavenly! You have to try this Rebecca"

"I got a great bath earlier Viola-san, I don't need one so soon" the pinkhaired maid responded, settling on one of the huge rocks.

"Well, we lost the opportunity before due to… unforeseen circumstances…." The darkhaired kuja began, laying her clothes to the side and joining the other woman in the water, though at a certain distance.

"yeah!" marguerite jumped in with a splash, doing a quick swim in the water before Shirahoshi joined them.

"Wauw, this is heavenly" the mermaid murmured, stretching to her full length, letting the water envelop her like a blanket, relishing in the feel of the fresh water and the tingling sensation it gave her. It was so much different from seawater, no salt at all, only a rejuvenating feeling of stress leaving her body.

"Ok the boys won't come near the pool now, are you guys enjoying it so far?"

"Yes Carrot-sama its' wonderful" Shirahoshi beamed at the smaller mink.

"this pool is fantastic, the coolness, the stones at the bottom, and just look at all these small squid that keeps swimming all over us, they're so adorable!" Viola smiled holding up a little cephalopod in the palm of her hands, watching the fingernail sized yellow and green-and-red-and purple-ringed animal with fascination "I wonder why they do that though?"

"Probably eating our dead skincells" Rindo muttered between puffs on her cigarette "I've heard some fish do that from time to time in the sea"

"I've heard that too, but I think our resident expert could clarify that for us" Shirahoshi blushed a little at Viola's words, but she nodded in confirmation.

"we often do that on Fishman island, there's several beauty parlour where you can get your skin cleaned, even in the human quarter… or so I've heard…" she said, her voice growing a little low at the last part, as she didn't have direct firsthand experience with the different areas of fishman islands capitol.

Much to the mermaid princess' relief, Viola was quick to change the subject

"By the way, Rindo… you said that you were out of cigarettes earlier… so were did you get that one?" pointing at the smoke in the kuja's mouth.

"I got that from the chef you walk around with like a partner…. Does that bother you" still the kuja had that same dry tone to her voice that made her seem apathetic.

Viola flushed a little (the same with her niece and Shirahoshi) "We're not _partners_ , Rindo… I'm a bit surprised you know what that is…"

"Back home, all kuja have partners, we carry them around until we need them" marguerite said cheerfully, before continuing with a sadder tone "I wish I could have taken mine with me, and Tam gets so cranky when I don't pet her regularly…"

The other women in the pool blushed a little at the implications of the blonde's statements, it spoke about a part of kuja culture that they didn't foresee.

"And that's why I stick to a bazooka instead of a snake weapon, no feelings that can get hut" looking at the blushes of the other women in the pool, Rindo cocked an eyebrow "I'm talking about snake weapons of course, what did you think?"

"…nothing… Rindo-sama…. Nothing at all"

"Say, Shirahoshi-chan how is life in Ryugou Kingdom? I expect there's a lot of things that you don't have at the bottom of the ocean aside from forests"

Happy that someone had the wit to change the subject before it got into the realm of romance and intimacy, Shirahoshi enthusiastically responded

"Well, Rebecca-chan, naturally there's a lot of reefs and fish and no birds or…."

* * *

 **(on the seas)**

"So what you're telling me…" the large headed man began, none too amused as he walked on the stone pier like half a regiment of marines (he certainly weighed about the same) in front of the towns inhabitants and the men he'd brought with him.

"Iz, that Vi'm supposed to go south to get west and then turn left at some huge chalice shaped rock and the Vi'm going to find those king-boys?"

The townspeople looked at the man in front of them in despair, not sure he understood anything he'd just been told.

"VI don't think so" the man turned at the them, watching then like a hawk (or rather a humongous chicken, only waiting for them to do something that'd benefit it somehow)

"That's because we told you the exact opposite, go north, then east, and turn a little right at the cliff shaped like a huge co…."

"Silence you dirty mouthed boy you!" the huge headed man yelled at the mayor of the town, making the entire crowd grow silent immediately "VI'm perfectly aware of what you said before, VI just like my version better-buru!"

Straightening up, the huge headed man stared down the mayor, resting his thumbs in the suspenders of his onepiece bathing suit, the Jolly Roger on his chest standing proudly.

"VI'm going to enjoy this hunt Heehaw!" laughing loudly while spinning around on his heel, a wine bottle falling out of his large purple afro, baffling the crowd. They were eve more surprised when a hand reached out and grabbed it before it fell past his shoulders.

"Besides" the huge man added, as he swung back around to lock eyes with the mayor once more "why should VI believe anything you say hmmm? You could be lying to my face!" he punctuated it by pointing to his own massive head.

"They treated us like trash! That's why!" the mayor responded angrily, his voice rising to a cry that resonated across the waves "One of them came to our town and after getting a little beat up, they practically imprisoned our whole town looking for the guy! And when they finally found him and released us, they gave us not apology or compensation, parts of the town are still in ruins after their searches! Those kings and their scum in the World Government, as soon as it fits their devices they'll do away with us and even their own countrymen! How could I not tell the truth if it meant getting those bastards down?"

"Nfufufufufu!" the large headed man chuckled deeply, his smile widening "VI believe you now-buru"

Turning to his own men on the pier he shouted with unfettered joy "Come on my little Candies! Time to get those king-boys! Heeeehaw!"

The candies responded in kind, their enthusiasm and outrage evident

"Yes, Queen Ivankow-sama!"

* * *

 **(In the forest)**

Despite the worries she had after hearing what had happened with the Big Mom pirates, and then having to deal with Luffy's childish sulking at not being allowed to hit anything, Nami's mood was almost instantly lifted when she laid yes on the tranquil scene before her.

"Well you seem to be enjoying yourself" she said with a smirk, giving the women in the pool a quick survey, noting how relaxed they all seemed. After she'd returned to the ship and had a quick chat with her comrades, she and Vivi had ventured out into the forest to look for the other guests.

"Look, I'm sorry, but you gotta get up soon, Franky's done with his lumberjacking and Zoro hasn't found anything dangerous on the island-" (the last part wasn't entirely true, the swordsman had taken out a minor herd of giantic boar, filling their stores of meat to the brimming point (which helped Luffy's mood, still being denied a battle)) "-so we're good to go"

"Five more minutes! This is amazing…" Marguerite pleaded next to her fellow kuja, who had fallen asleep, with the last burnt-out remains of her cigarette hanging from her lips.

"does that go for miss ashtray-lips over there?"

"Nami-sama, be nice, please!"

"Have Sanii recovered yet?"

"Unfortunately not… Chopper says he'll be out cold for the time being, but he should be better tomorrow…" Nami said with a sulk, taking a deep breath

"I'm surprised, Navigator-san, usually you would be very angry at Sanii"

"Well Viola-san, I'm generally not a fan of kicking someone when they're down…." The navigator shrugged slightly "Besides….." Nami's head dropped significantly, "With Sanji out cold… I'm the only one on the ship that can cook!"

Despite looking down, Nami knew Viola was looking at her with scrutiny, not all that happy her sanii wasn't paid more attention/were pitied more. Nami reasoned that the dressrosan princess would personally remedy that later.

"Aww Don't' feel bad Navigator-san, even with Lucy-san's appetite, I don't think there's that much that needs doing, last night most of the meat he ate was rare"

"There's still 16 other people that needs feeding Rebecca-chan…"

"15 aside from Luffy, VIvi" Nami corrected her "I don't think Sanji will eat all that much when he's in the infirmary... and I'm likely to pass out after being done, so only 14 others, minus our captain..." Nami could already feel the fatigue assault her like a storm. Feeding the group that went to Tottoland had been a herculean task in itself, mostly because they had to catch their food first. As soon as Franky had repaired the bathroom Nami was going to soak for a week!

"Oh, I can help you Nami, Terracotta gave me some lessons while you guys had your break…"

Smiling at her blue haired friend, Nami couldn't help herself "It really was a training period, captain's orders…." She corrected again with a sheepish grimace "but I'm happy you'll help me…" turning to leave, Nami called over her shoulder "Don't be too long, we're setting out as soon as possible"

* * *

 **(On the seas, on a ship entering a very ostentatious harbour)**

"Hurry up Pudding-chan, we're almost there!" Stussy called out, her happy tone unsettling her young ward even further.

The girl had tried to convince her that she was very nervous about seeing the pleasure district, and she were, but not as much as if Pudding thought that Stussy had seen through her ruse.

If she ever realised that Stussy had never been fooled, the poor girl would panic like Tottoland during one of Big Mom's seizures.

Right now, the girl was pretend rushing in her cabin, acting as if she was gathering her few meagre belongings and packing them into har little cute suitcase, when in fact, she was using a hidden den den mushi (most likely stored away in her new haircut or in the hem of her dress) to call her family, telling them all about what Stussy had told her about the Strawhat's benefactor. All, that Stussy thought was prudent to tell her about it anyway.

It was almost too adorable that Pudding had fallen for her arranged bridesgroom in the middle of it all, and it was only icing on the cake that she refused to admit it to herself. Stussy had seen the look she'd given Black Leg as soon as he'd called her third eye beautiful, so broken and so hopeful at the same time, which the older woman theorized was true for all of Linlin's children (there had to be a reason for Katakuri to wear his scarf at all times). That Pudding had subconsciously given the pirate the pet name Jiji, wasn't something Stussy had foreseen however, but that one hadn't been hard to figure out at all. Which made it a bit boring, but not enough for her to ignore it, it could still be used after all.

Taking a sip of her glass, Stussy relished the taste of both the depths and tones of the wine, and the more subtle and intricate flavour of her own manipulations. Soon the girl would open up and tell her everything she wanted, and dear, sweet, little, naïve and blind Pudding wouldn't even realise it.

She giggled, remembering the wedding ceremony, the Vinsmoke Prince and member of the Strawhat Pirates paired with a daughter of Big Mom. If only the humongous sow that was Charlotte Linlin and that idiot to Judge had talked things over with Strawhat first, they could've formed an alliance capable of toppling Kaido within a few months.

Now, the Strawhats were headed out to fight him alongside their allies in the Hearts Pirates and on the Yonkos' own turf no less. It was almost too good to be true!

Another little crew or organisation that caused some trouble and got away with it for far too long, angering and mocking either pirate or world government, was about to have themselves killed because of their arrogance or audacity.

It was all too perfect!

That Strawhat was a " _D_ " was all the more delicious!

Stussy briefly wondered if it was something that ran in his family, the rapid rise to power and importance, to infamy! The amount of cheekiness that he had.

Everyone had their own theories about what the " _D_ " stood for, some thought it stood for _dream_ , others, _dimwit_ , _doom, dastardly_ , _deicide_ (which could very well be why so many of the _Tenryubito_ feared them), _damnation_ or even that it wasn't a letter at all, but a smile that had been turned lopsided, very lopsided. To Stussy it seemed that the " _D"_ stood for _Destiny_ , the destiny to fall that was.

Fall, like another " _D_ " had, because she willed it. _So long ago…._

Tomorrow, if all went as planned, Morgans would bring the article she had requested in the World Economic Journal, and then it was only a matter of waiting.

Waiting, for one of Strawhats' crew, to realise that they needed more intel before they tried to challenge Kaido directly. Stussy' guess would be either _devilchild_ , _JInbe_ or the _cat burglar_. Having seen the orange haired navigator in action, the queen of the pleasure quarter highly doubted that her bounty of a measly 66 million beli was a fair estimate of her abilities. As a side note, the bounty on _God Usopp,_ 200 million, was far too high by her calculations. If she ever pressed her case with the world government, perhaps they could see reason and switch the two.

But back on the subject, if the Strawhats' didn't send one of their Grand Fleet divisions, then they'd come and gather the intel themselves.

And that's when the trap would spring!

If her imbecilic superiors got their way, destroying the Strawhat crew directly was an especially bad plan when he was going to get himself killed all on his own.

If they had the sense to follow her plan however, the world government might even be capable of taking out Kaido, if they played their cards right.

But if memory served no superiors she 'd ever had could think that far. Cringing as the voice of her father emerged from the distant past, forcing Stussy to empty her glass in a quick gulp before carelessly throwing it away.

"Stupid men…." She hissed under her breath

"…Madam?" a Stony voice asked tentatively, the owner eying her nervously, shifting in his place

"Nothing Bellliworth" Stussy coldly scolded the butler, despite that he'd served her family since before he could walk, the old man wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer (sometimes she thought that he was more like a spoon or perhaps a whisk was better) "Get me another glass, I'm thirsty, something with a bit more body this time and from a better year!"

Hearing her butler scurry off, Stussy forced a smile to appear on her face.

Her little ward had shown up.

"Ah there you are! We're almost ready to dock now!" placing a hand on Pudding's trembling shoulder, the queen of the pleasure district continued, spreading an arm out to encompass the port leading to her very own, private, little kingdom "I think you'll love it here"

 _At least you'll act like it_ , she thought as Pudding smiled nervously at her host.

"You don't need to be afraid here!" Stussy said overbearingly, gently walking her shaking guest down the plank to the pier, while simultaneously complimenting the younger woman in her mind: _Smart little girl, aren't you? Not believing me at all._

* * *

 **(on the** _ **Sunny**_ **, around night time)**

Nami swayed a little as she took a break from the feast inside.

Her and Vivi had been worked to the bone. The bluenette was a competent chef, but the pair had been very fatigued after cooking all that food, and it hadn't gotten better when Luffy had asked for more, only to be told that they needed food for tomorrow too (half the boars Zoro had hunted down had been used almost instantly after the captain had sat down, boredom seemed to make him as hungry as adventure did!).

The rest of the table were an odd combination of excited and tired, Brook and Carrot had energy to spare, neither really having been that active today, the same went for Zoro (guess a few boars only counted as minor sport for him) while Usopp and Franky were far more worn out, one from cutting down trees for temporary repairs (but only until the cyborg could get his hands on more Adam wood, which they could probably find on Runny Rum (the black market was everywhere, if you knew where to look)) while the other had tried to keep up with Zoro as he'd run down the pork for the evenings' dinner, simultaneously panicking all the way.

Robin and Jinbe both acted stoically, both not having overexerted themselves during the day's covert spying mission.

Chopper and the majority of their guests that had been in the forest were tired, Chopper for obvious reasons, checking up on their captain after his strange seizure and then having to use up most of his medical supplies to prevent Sanji from being too affected by his bloodloss. Why the… _forest bathers_ were tired, Nami didn't know, but she was almost too fatigued to think about it herself.

Looking down at her hands, she noted how worm they looked, even in the sparse light that was outside on the deck she could see how red they were, but she knew that with a bit of rest, she could use them as dexterously as she used to.

But there were other things that bothered her, who was the person that had attacked the Big Mom Pirates? And how did they know that the princesses (plus two Kuja) were sailing with them? And who had they called to tell about it?

All the questions were starting to spin around in Nami's head and was fast giving her a headache.

"Are you ok Nami-sama?"

Turning to the mermaid princess, despite all the things on her mind, Nami didn't have to force a smile to greet her.

"Just a little worn out Shirahoshi, nothing a good nights' sleep won't cure"

"Ah I see…" the mermaid murmured, her large eyes shifting from Nami to the islands they were leaving behind, their forms obscured by the mists

"Why did you call up all those… clouds for Nami-sama?"

"It's mist Shirahoshi, and they're there to conceal us and keep others from wanting to sail in that direction" Nami explained, her mind concerned solely with the potential for Big mom's ships accidentally stumbling on them in the night.

"Vivi-sama was really impressed by it"

"She sure was, I got my first Climatact when I was in Alabasta helping save the country"

"I think Vivi-sama would like her own one day"

"I don't need one of my old ones, so I don't see why she shouldn't have one" despite that Vivi didn't know the first thing about the improved versions of the weapon, only having seen the original, Nami liked the idea of having another swing it around, showing the world what the device was able to do.

"I was really happy to see a real forest today…." Shirahoshi suddenly said, her words bordering on a whisper, part awe and part fear "But I would have liked for you to be there Nami-sama, and Luffy-sama too… and the rest of the crew…."

Nami nodded "Yeah, we all made that promise with you, didn't we?" Nami scratched her head in embarrassment, a little ashamed that she hadn't been able to keep her end of the promise, Nami patted the princess' arm.

"ugh" the groan was barely audible, but Nami heard it regardless.

"You okay Shirahoshi? I only brushed your arm a little" Nami watched the huge girl on the deck with concern.

"I… I'm fine Nami-sama, just… tired…. I don't know, a good nights' rest might help me too…"

Holding out a hand again towards the mermaid, Nami stopped short, just before touching the princess' skin.

 _Why is her skin so warm?_ She thought, _it's like she's radiating heat!_

"Shirahoshi, are you okay? Should I get Chopper?"

"No need-Nami-sama…'m-jst-hppi-t c-a-fore-"

Nami didn't have the time to get out of the way when Shirahoshi toppled, burying the navigator underneath her head and an avalanche of pink hair, the rest of her body landing on the deck with a heavy thump. Digging though the sweet-smelling strawberry-mane, Nami finally emerged from under the mermaid princess' burning hot neck.

First came her head and Nami gasped for breath, preferring the smell of salty sea air with a faint tint of her beloved orange trees over Shirahoshi's personal aroma any day. Struggling further, the mermaid's weight pinning her down, Nami finally managed to get the rest of her body free.

Fetching a lamp, Nami noted how sweaty and oddly reddish the mermaids' skin was, and yet with areas where she shivered. Her breath uneven, her whole body still and although her eyes were closed, Nami could see all sorts of movement beneath the lids.

"What the hell?" Nami muttered to herself, before whipping around and yelling as loud as she could

"CHOPPER! Get out here quick! Something is seriously wrong with Shirahoshi!"

* * *

 **End of chapter 13**

welcome to new followers / people who favorited this fic

Well this got long, 19.000+ words long in fact. Which means I've hit a landmark, a fic of over 100.000 words. And bloody hell did it take a while to finish!

I've said it before, I have to make shorter chapters.

 **Threads this time around – all of which are beginning to form a nice tight knot without any of them knowing.**

 **Strawhats:** plans to pass over the princesses to their fathers, the sunny gets damaged, Luffy gets very nervous for some reason, and the crew hears that someone is keeping close tabs on them, much to their fear. Viola tries to get closer to the chef, while struggling wiht some secrets. Also baths in abundance, Sanji hasn't been that happy since he swam with mermaids on Fishman island, even though he almost dies of blood loss…. Again. Speaking of weakened people, someone is feeling a bit under the weather too.

 **Big mom pirates:** gets their sticky hands on Caesar and loses him again soon after. Both Tablet and Raisin are canon characters btw. The readers can check put this link if you want to be certain of who's who: wiki/Big_Mom_Pirates

 **The mysterious party:** leaves the sky island, grabs Caesar from big moms' crew and gives Fran a call, much to Fran's displeasure.

 **The royals:** finding out where they're going to see their daughters again. Cobra isn't getting any better.

 **CP0** : Stussy is still with Pudding, sailing the seas together, sharing experiences, but are just about to arrive at their destination. Pudding doesn't know what Sanji is doing, but, she can feel some of it, and it's ticking her off. Stussy is planning and scheming like crazy.

 **The princess hunters:** still out there, the guy that obliterated the Macro pirates and battered part of the Long Long crew has set sails for Runny Rum.

 **The revolution:** Ivankov finally shows up, after 12 chapters the hormone king makes his debut, looking for the royals that are looking for their daughters.

RnR if you'd be so kind


	14. Chapter 14: Diseases and cures

**Blood ties like iron chains chapter 14**

 **Diseases and cures  
**

* * *

 **(On the** _ **Sunny**_ **around dawn)**

Nami sighed as she looked down at the shivering form of Shirahoshi.

As soon as she had collapsed (and landed on Nami) the navigator had called for Chopper to come help.

The small reindeer had been with Shirahoshi the entire night, being kept company by a confused Luffy, a dead worried Rebecca (and naturally Sanji, Viola had gone to bed early on), a stoic Jinbe and an exhausted Nami, checking on vitals and making sure she was as comfortable as possible (which was harder than it should be, since the mermaids' size made it hard to find a place to sleep or provide cover from the winds and weather).

"Do you think Shirahoshi-chan will recover?"

Nami turned with a snap, startled at the sudden question. Fortunately, it was only Rebecca.

"Did I frighten you? I didn't mean to…"

"it's not a problem Rebecca-san, not at all" She looked down at prone form of Shirahoshi again "I was just deep in my own thoughts is all" Swallowing, she looked at the ex-gladiator again "I don't know, but I really hope she will…."

Standing in silence the two women gazed at each other and at the mermaid on the deck, uncertain of what to do. Chopper was still walking all over her taking numerous notes and consulting his books while paying special attention to the mermaids' skin for whatever reason.

"She just…" Rebecca began, before Nami interjected " **Yes,** **she just collapsed** **out of the blue** …." Taking a breath the navigator spoke again "Sorry, I'm stressed and I'm venting… it seems to happen a lot lately…"

"Yes' Viola-san has pointed it out aa few times…"

Scoffing slightly "I'm not venting on Sanji, I'm punishing him, and until I think it's enough I'm going to continue, with or without someone else's' permission"

Rebecca bit her lip slightly at Nami's words, allowing both a brief moment of silence, the only sounds either could hear were the wind rustling through their hair, the sails and over the sail covered form of Shirahoshi.

"Speaking of which, where is your aunt anyway? I didn't see her, or Margurite-san and Rindo-saan at breakfast"

"They were tired from yesterday, so they stayed in bed…" Rebecca admitted, then giggled a little "perhaps they could smell that Chef-sans' cooking was not up to its usual standards"

Nami couldn't bring herself to crack a smile, not under the circumstances at least "Sanji's worried about Shirahoshi, like the rest of us… and he didn't really have that much to work with anyway" Nami left out the part that he was still anaemic from the previous day's bloodloss.

"oh… sorry to be a burden" the pinkette responded sheepishly, looking down at her feet, back to biting her lip

"…It's not a burden, if it's to help friends" Nami added, trying to console the girl. Patting her back, Nami forced a smile "How about we try and wake up those sleepyheads? There's no reason for them to just lie around there all day, is there?"

Taking Rebecca by the hand, Nami led her towards the girls' bedroom.

* * *

( **On the island of joys, the** _ **Pleasure Quarter**_ **, one of Stussy's mansions** )

Pudding looked at her spacious room from the window where she'd just pulled the drapes, allowing the sun to enter, illuminating the entire _girl cave_.

Her host was nothing if not pampering. The quarters Pudding had been given was downright luxurious, even more so than her room back in Tottoland in Whole Cake Chateau or on Cacao Island.

A big bed with new linen with a pillow so big she could make a lifeboat out of if the whole island sank, an intricate carpet in a dozen colours and with a pattern that Pudding couldn't help but admire, making her afraid to walk on it (although the butler Beliworth had assured her it had been used for over years and could handle a few more footsteps). Pudding had loved it from the moment she stepped foot on it, it felt like walking on a meadow on a summer afternoon. Pudding briefly wondered whom had made it, momentarily unhappy that her devilfruit didn't work on inanimate objects, but she could always ask her host.

Which was a very good thing to bring up during breakfast. It had only been 5 minutes since Beliworth had knocked on her door, telling her that he'd served food and refreshments on the balcony if she wished, after that he'd gone to deliver the mornings' newspaper.

Changing out of her nightgown and putting on a simple flora dress, Pudding left for the balcony.

She'd been given a quick tour the previous evening when she'd arrived, and she quickly found the entrance, or rather, she saw where Beliworth fled out of fast as lightning, closely followed by the raging howls that she could only compare to her mothers' response to not getting her candytax on time.

"WHAT THE ? THAT'S NOT SUPPOSED TO SAY THAT! WHAT IS THIS?"

Peeking out on the sunlit terrace overlooking a splendid lagoon, green and blue, the sea and the trees forming a semicircle, Puddings' eyes were drawn to her host, dressed in a deep scarlet robe, her hair wrapped in a towel, her head so deep in the newspaper that it seemed she had fused with it.

"Ugh, that Morgans…." Her host went again, her voice part growl and sneer. Whatever she was reading, Pudding reasoned that the other emperor of the underworld hadn't been cooperative about it.

Trembling a bit as she emerged through the doorway, Pudding tried to stroll casually towards her host.

"Is this a bad time? I can wait, if you prefer?" she tried shakily

Putting down the paper and straightening up, Stussy met Puddings' young eyes with her tired and worn gaze.

"No you can stay, I'm just a little peeved is all"

Didn't sound peeved to me… Pudding thought as she joined her host at the table, set with a dozen different dishes, many of which Pudding didn't know (the vast majority of food in Totto land was heavy in sugars and dairy products, things like eggs that wasn't part of a cake were practically unheard of, at least for the upper classes, specifically the Charlotte family).

"That's Shakshouka, that's a quiche with bacon and leek, that's fried eggplant mashed and mixed with herbs, garlic and cream with toast, that's scrambled eggs plain and simple and I do hope you've been acquainted with crepes, they're divine this morning by the way"

Pudding blinked slowly, each of her three eyes in turn "How did you?" she began, not remembering who she was dealing with

"Considering you mothers' sweet tooth and the dishes available in Totto land, it's not hard to see why you were watching the food so inquisitively"

"Oh, thank you, for clearing that up" Pudding responded, looking at the food, not sure what to try first.

"What is in today's newspaper?"

"A number of articles, including stupid commercials, which have been combined into one foolish page of worthlessness, but I guess I can suffice for the time being, Morgans can bring the article I ordered tomorrow… but it's cutting it a bit close for my time schedule" Stussy remearked taking a sip of her cup, which smelled like it was filled with Choco tea.

"Can I see it please? I really like being kept updated with the events and news" after handing her the paper, Stussy started eating an assortment of fruits leaving Pudding to read.

"What was the article you wanted in print by the way?"

"Just a little notice about a side project of mine, a little cashcow that could give more milk so to speak, and preferably before the tourism season picks up speed" she added, sipping her cup again.

"And is that…"

"Going to affect you?" her host finishing her sentence with a shrug "Possibly, but nothing negative I assure you, if anything it'll benefit you for years to come!" She smiled at Pudding, who, tried to hide her unease as best she could, by reading the article Stussy had been so furious about,

Ignorign an article about the missing princesses, the newspaper making a small bio of the nubile women in question, this one focussing on the Dressrosan princess (Whom Jiji had been a little too interested in for Puddings' liking!) she foudn what her host had raged about.

The title did very little for her:

 _Great discovery at Runny Rum museum of Criminals! Great secrets restored for the World Government and Justice of the Marines!_

Reading the first few-eyecatcher-lines, Pudding couldn't help but raise two of her three eyebrows in confusion at it:

 _Mysteries and schemes of the Fruit Merchant revealed at last, routes, research, his lost artefacts, maps and even his relatives, all will soon be laid bare for the world!  
_

Pudding looked up at her host with an inquisitive expression, only to have the older wwoman wave her hand at her in frustration

"Please, that article had put me in a foul mood, I'll answer some of your questions later... perhaps during a little shopping, you seem to be in need of new clothes"

Blinking at her host, Pudding opened her mouth to respond "I... What's wrong with my dress?" acting like she had momentarily forgotten any questions she had, choosing to appease her host instead, helping her gather some information herself. The better standing she had with herr host, the more she could get away with in her domain.

"Oh not much, back in Tottoland you'd look like any other citizen..." Stussy responded, holding her hands up, trying to ward away the defensive stare of her wards' three eyes, though Pudding could feel the slight insult in her words: _like an other citizen? Mama is the queen, and that makes me a princess! I don't dress like the mob!_ she thought to herself, feeling a stab of indignant rage towards the woman across the table "... but here..." Stussy continued, making Pudding snap out of her thoughts and focus on her again "...you might want to dress in a more elegant manner, like a young woman with class..."

Pudding considered the words, it was true much of her wardrope (as in all!) had been chosen by Mama, and that made some of it look a bit tacky and like doll clothes in some cases, so it wouldn't hurt to dress differently in another political climate. But Mama would find out eventually. Which was causing Pddding to pause

"But... Mama and..." SH ebegan, looking down, biting her lip and looking both ashamed and nervous at the same time, the posterchild of a shrinking violet. Hopefully her acting would convince the emperor of the underworld that had taken her in.

"Oh, Linlin won't mind, I'm certain of it" Pudding briefly doubted that Stussy had ever met the Yonko. The day when aa snowball floded hell was happening sooner than when Mama didn't mind her children making their own decisions. On the other side of the table, Stussy gave her a secretive smile "Especially, if we don't tell her about it."

Pudding had to stiffle a genuine giggle at this, that particular bit was very a very popular passtime amongst her and her siblings. That, or blaming someone else, which in Pudding's case would be the emperor (or perhaps empress) in front of her.

Meanwhile, the other woman at the table leaned over it and continued speaking

"If you're worried about the cost, don't be, I'll be glad to pay for a´everything!" she finished with a smile, winnig Pudding over

"Well, how coul I resist that sort of offer?" Pudding smiled, no need for acting in this case "When do the stores open?"

A chuckle emerged from Stussy, part entertained and part happily, but mostly it was to chastice Puddings' naivety

"Oh, my dear sweet little friend... the shops open whenever I need them to" A little smile emerged on Stussy lips as she tilted her head at Pudding

"Now, I have to get dressed, and then we're off in a jiffy, doesn't that sound lovely?"

Pudding couldn't help but smile nervously at her host, hoping she would be able to find out more about the empress of the underworlds' secrets.

Though she doubted it'd be easy,

at least she'd get a nice new wardrobe out of it.

* * *

 **(on the** _ **Sunny)**_

Nami nearly shrieked when she entered the girls bedroom on the ship.

Before her, all of whom she'd thought were sleepyheads, were pale and sweaty,

just like Shirahoshi on the deck, but not nearly as bad as the mermaid.

"What the?" she gasped at the sight, before slamming the door behind her forcing Rebecca backwards and shocking the pinkette.

"What's going on?" the ex-gladiator near shrieked, her eyes wide and full of worry

"I don't know..." Nami meant it, is seemed that an epidemic had struck their guests... and only the women...

and only those that had bathed in that lake yesterday!

"What's going on here?" Chopper sped over to them across the deck "They've gotten sick too, haven't they?"

"Yeah, I think so, but how'd you..."

"I found some strange markings on Shirahoshi, they're reminiscent of the bite mark from the Forest Squids"

"Forest Squid?!" Nami repeated, the name spiking a memory about something she had read

"Yeah, I saw it in a newspaper in your study and then it clicked, they all bathed, so they should all should be sick!" the little reindeer flailed his arms in a panic.

"So what can you do?"

"Right now, not much, there's several ways to cure it, but I haven't come to that chapter yet!" the doctor yellped "But I know it's not contagious, and that they don't die for the first 3-4 days, after that the chances gets slimmer and slimmer..."

Nami stared dumbfound at Chopper "DIE?"

"That's only if i Don't manage to cure them first!" the littel reindeer stuck his chin up confidently, looknig like Usopp when he was trying to tell a particular bold lie.

Somehow, it did little to reassure Nami's worries.

But Chopper seemed very selfconfident in his skills, so she could only allow the little pirate to enter the women bedroom.

"What are we going to do Nami-san?" Behind Nami, Rebecca shivered, worried for her friends and her aunt.

Nami swallowed, hard, before she spoke again

"We go and tell the others..."

* * *

 **(In** _ **Runny rum archipelago**_ )

Another day, another chance to read up on what the marines were doing.

Constantly staking out the Smugglers' wing in the museum was perhaps the most boring thing she had ever taken part in. But since the museum had inisted on keeping the notes on display, the vice admiral in charge had decided to have the notes restored on site.

Which worked out perfectly for Mama's crew.

They could watch the pages as soon as they were restored by the _modo modo no mi_ ( _Return Return fruit_ ) in peace andd quiet. But just to avoid calling too much attention to themselves, they entererd the wing in pairs.

 _At least I'm not stuck with Dacquoise_ , Galette thought, looking down at the pumpkin-headed Kato, who was hiding most of his stick-figure-body, and his prominent head, under a hood and cloak. She herself had opted for a more normal outfit, a travelling jacket and tacky jewelry, that she'd bought in town (not her taste but it was for disguise afterall. Naturally, Dacqouise's compliments about how they looked good on her, adressing her chest more than her face, had been revolting). A change of haircut and -colour and some phony glasses had completed her disguise.

Right now, what was also not too lucky, was that they couldn't get close to the marine's prisoner. There were simply too many guards.

Specifically two marine captains and some minor commodore.

The captains were so different even the blind could see the difference, one dressed in red and black, thin as a reed with a swords at his hip, looking angrily at the prisoner. The other one, fat and dressed in yellow, couldn't be more indifferent to the place they were, yawning at practically everything in front of him.

From the common sailors that were also there, she could hear which was which: red and angry was Redcliff, while bored and yellow was Jolland.

Which left the Commodore, who logically would be durkey, and Galtette could see why he hadn't been liked by the two female marines, if he'd been a pirate, him and Dacqouise would have been the best of friends. More than once she saw him lean his face close to the female prisoner, this Ain, whispering to her and each time she had drawn away from him, a lip curled up in revulsion, dread in her eyes. It was like that when she had to use her devilfruit powers too. her regression only working at 12 year intervals but with Durkey's powers, it could be pushed from 26 - 28 years, which was around the time the _Fruit Merchant_ had written them. But each time he had to augment the prisoners' powers, he'd lay his hand on her, her shoulder, face or even her leg.

More and more, Galette felt like skewering the Commodore on a spear. His looks matched his personlity, shorter than herself, stoopshouldered, a green uniform and orange cape with matching beanie cap, all of which didn't do enough to cover up the toad of a man that wore them.

"These pages are next, Yes?" came the Commodore's vile voice, part rat squeak and croaking toad.

"Yeah" the yellow captain responded "These should've been made some 28 years ago, if the dates are to be believed"

Galette smiled at this, Coyle _the Fruit Merchant_ hadn't been all too precise when it came to dates, meaning almost a fourth of the available pages had turned into blank pieces of paper upon regression, not extensive research that could've strengthened the Marines, or whom ever got their hands on the . Perhaps it was a sign of his reputed madness, or genious, it depended on whom were asked about him. And that required them to remember him, after over 2 decades, it was hard to remember a smuggler, very few got to be famous in that line of work, and then get away with it, even Umit and Giberson, two of the emperors of the underworld, avoided notoriety whenever possible.

But somehow the _Fruit Merchant_ had done just that.

Which was why he had his own area in the museums' smuggler wing (which toook up about half of the wings' area).

"Awwww God Dammit!"

Galette didn't need to turn her head to know what had happened: another page had been a dud.

the stream of curses that erupted from the commodore only confirmed it further. Which would lead to the usual response from her three captors.

She'd seen it aa few time sby now, and it was starting to get old.

The yellow one would raise his rifle and slam the butt into the prisoners' head. a thud and the woman was out cold again.

Since it had been done before, the poor girl was already pretty groggy and dropped after one blow now. It sucked, but knocking Ain unconscious seemed to be the only way to reset the regressions she made. All of them.

Why the marines hadn't noted which pages weren't duds until now amazed Galette to no end. Naturally, copies were being made of the succesful regressions, but since there were over 4 ledgers and numerous single pages of notes (Strangely many of those referred to someone, which Coyle only called "THE ONE", and seemed to take some sort of orders from) they most likely hadn't even copied a quarter of the regressions.

Fortunately Galette had noted the correct dates. If they managed to get their hands on the notes as well, they'd need them for future reference.

Hopefully the girl hadn't taken too much damage for when they got their hands on her.

"What is going on here?" an angry voice calleed out from the entrance to the wing. batting an eye towards it, Galette saw that it was the Vice admiral Gion herself, striding into the wing like she owned it, the museum director, a short man in a blue tuxedo with butterfly that was too tight for his rotund face. behind little reading glasses, the man was still reading a newspaper as he scurried after the woman in front of him.

the look on her face bespoke of a deepfelt and volatile rage, all of which was directed at the three marines.

Galette took Kato by the arm and silently guided him a little further away from the angry vice admiral.

Despite the danger they could be in if they got discovered or recognised,

Galette was going to enjoy witnessing the marines getting chewed out immensely!

* * *

 **(On the _Sunny, the kitchen_ )**

The crew had sat in apt silence under Nami's explanation,

some, like Sanji and Carrot, had bitten their lower lips in worried frustration,

others, like Zoro and Jinbe had taken the news with a stoic expression.

"But the good news is that, according to Chopper, there's several ways to treat it" Nami finished, noting several hopeful smiles emerging on several faces.

"Oh please don't scare me like that" Sanji whimpered behind his stove, sighing in relief a moment later.

at that moment Chopper entered the kitchen, his expression serious, giving Nami the chills

"Chopper, is everything allright?" she managed, the reindeers expression not changing.

"No. Nothing is allright..." he began, sighing heavily, his shoulrders slooping down in defeat "They've all gotten a nasty disease... which is weakening them... and then there's death..."

Silence fell across the kitchen, shocked faces all around

"But you said that there were plenty of cures!" Luffy blurted out, looking at both Nami and Chopper

"Under optimal conditions!" the doctor retorted angrily "But usually the symptoms emerge at the second day to third day of the affliction, not on the first!"

"So the others are under normal conditions, but not Shirahoshi-chan?" Rebecca hid her mouth with her hands.

"None of them are under normal conditions!" the reindeer sobbed, wiping his face "usually people only get sick from a single octopus, not a lot! And I'ts worse for ShIrahoshi: Several days of having dragged you around..." he pointed to Vivi and Rebecca ".. not enough food, all that stress, and not being used to move around that much must've affected her immune system..."

Nami couldn't bellieve her ears, one of her friends was going to die, and her miracle doctor couldn't do a thing about it

"There have to be something we can do! isn't there some sort of medicine that can..."

"No!" the reindeer wailed "The only certain cure for the poisonous disease of the forest octopus is a medicament made from blood from close relatives..."

The navigator gave him a blank stare "Like those were delivering them back to?" She heard Usopp say, his voice not betraying any emotion "And Rebecca who's Viola's niece..."

"Yeah..." the little reindeer sobbed momentarily before it clicked in his head, and he spun around with a snap, his tears turning from sorrow to joy "That'll work!"

from Sorrow to joy in a heartbeat... until another thought exploded in Nami's mind.

"What about Rindo and Marguerite?"

While Shirahoshi's father was searching for her, and they had Rebecca here (and if that didn't work for Viola, then King Riku was on his way as well), but where on the seas were the Kuja's relatives?

The only ones they could ask were the two Kuja themselves.

* * *

 **(On Runny Rum Archiepelago)**

Galette had lead Kato behind a cabinet of notes and old newspaper articles.

From there, they could survey the entire scene

"Well vice admiral, we..." the toad commodore began, his words trembling in his mouth at his approaching superior.

"The prisoner wasn't obeying with the commands so..." Redcliff began, his voice more sure of himself than his subordinate, the vice admiral still stared him down however.

"You've knocked her out! And not for the first time by the look of things!" her tone spoke of outrage and Galette found herself almost laughing at the marines' distress "That's not just stupid since we still haven't copied all of his notes, it's downright inhumane! What is wrong with you?" Galette snuck a peek at the vice admiral, noting her epxression and the height difference between the woman and the three men. taller than the commodore, at hight with Redcliff and slightly shorter than Jolland, Gion somehow managed to stare down all three.

Perhaps it was rank, or that she had a superior devil fruit to all three. Everyone on the island knew about, and bragged of, their vice admirals' logia fruit, and especially it's beauty. Regardless Galette enjoyed the sight.

"She's a prisoner, they must have a short leash lest they misbehave!" Redcliff protested, his nose sticking up at his superior

"She was also a marine once, before she joined these Neo Marines, her only crime as far as I can see is being a radical following her teacher Zephyr, doesn't that sound familiar captain Redcliff?" her words made the captain in question shiver and grind his teeth, visibly nervous. Galette didn't need a long explanation why, everyone knew about Zephyr and how he'd trained almost all the highcommand of the current marines, even the admirals from two years ago he'd trained, so this Captain was likely a student of his too.

"I get that not all marines care about their old comrades, but it could help here!" Gion growled at the three men in front of her, none of which met her gaze, but not one looking like they were ashamed or sorry about it "Now hand her over, she needs medical attention!"

"Wha... but we're working here!" Commodore Durkey blurted out, his arms spread out in front of him "the prisoner have to.." he continued, but Gion was having none of it

"Enough! I'm taking her myself if need be, but if there's no more problems, Jolland!" the captain in yellow snapped to attention, his jowls jigglng as he saluted "Take Ain here to the infirmery back on base, Immediately!" Galette hid behind the cabinet again as the whale sized captain rushed towards the entrance, the prisoner held gently in his arms.

"Since you two doesn't seem too inclined to enjoy the facilities, you can take the day off" Gion said to the two remainig men, dismissing them coldly.

The pair hurried out of the wing as fast as they could, without looking like they were fleeing.

Which only left the vice admiral and the director of the museum, standing in front of the cabinets and the small ruined left overs of the Fruit Merchants' actions.

Galette dared another peek, seeing that the Marine was looking at a broken page of Coyle's journal, her expresion mirrored in the glass she rested her palm against, reflecting some deep emotion, right beneath the surface.

"If I may, Gion-chan-sama..." the director began, finally looking up from his newspaper and folding it behind his back "Please remove your hand, the glass gets dirty"

When the vice admiral still hadn't removed her hand, the director cleared his throat, loudly.

"Oh, my aplogies" she hurried on to say "I was a bit lost in my own world..."

"I noticed, care to elaborate? Everyone always wants to knwo about our very own Vice Admiral-chan-sama!" Galteet nearly gagged at the sound of his sugary voice, trying to squeeze out something from the woman he was with.

Sighing, Gion looked over at the statue in the middle of the room, her voice fatalistic "I grew up in Vierno..."

"Aaahhh" the director said "the city That the Fruit Merchant took hostage, _give me you devil fruits or I'll bomb your orphanage_! I believe he said..."

"He did, and he meant it, and not just an orphanage, also the military bases, the harbour and the royal palace..." the her tone took a bitter note "Coyle lit the fuses just to show he meant it!"

"A truly despicable man" the director nodded "Gion-chan-sama, not to be disrespectful, but you don't seem old enough to remember that madmans' bout of destruction" he trailed off, letting his words hang in the air for a few moments, waiting for a response

"The memory of that one lives on, even today..." Gion said, her eyes hard and unblinking as she glared at the statue "My devilfruit..." she hesitated "Was one of those that got salvaged when Vica Admiral Hoodie destroyed him... and died in the proces"

"Yes a hero of the marines he was, and his family makes sure his memory never dies by funding this museum" the director sighed, a small smile on his lips.

"So that is why you insist on trying to communicate with that mad brute month after month?"

"Yes, I guess I should give up, but as long as it's free..." she eyed the director with a smirk

"Oh for you, I can call him up as much as is needed" he asured her "But I don't know why you continue, all he ever does is ignore any questions and just pray... and then he smiles afterwards like nothing else matters to him at all..."

"I know... he remains tightlipped about the secret routes, research on devilfruits or even his special Haki abilities..."

"Yes I agree, not only rude, he's a pest... how about we talk about something lighter for a change?" he finished with a smile as he led the vice admiral out of the wing, at which point Galette hid beind the cabinet again overhearing their conversation "So what's in the newspaper today?"

"Oh the most wonderful article about the missing Princess of Dressrosa, Oh how I'd love to meet her!" The director droned on like a little puppy seeing it's owner again after five minutes apart.

"So I guess that one goes into your collection then?"

"Naturally" the man beamed happily, doing a little piruette on his toes "And what are you up to, aside from this?"

"We're getting a ship with evidence, prisoners and the alledged murder weapon used to kill that black market broker in tomorrow, hopefully it'll give us more information about the recent string of murders"

As the sound of their footsteps disappeared out of the wing, Galette groaned in frustration

"So nothing more to do here... Kato let's get going... K-Kato?" Galette looked around after the smaller homie, finding him propped up against a wall, soundly snorring away next to a cabinet with old articles and broken relics.

Looking down at the little pumpkin-headed homie, a bubble of snot (or some sort of pumpkin juice?) expanded and deflated from where his nose would, presumably, be.

 _He almost looks cute_ Galette thought with a raised eyebrow and a petite smirk, before nudging the homie with the tip of her shoe hoping he'd wake up

seeing him stir and wipe his eyes, she tapped her foot on the floor "Catch enough sleep last night?"

"Oh, I caught plenty of sleep mistress Galette" the homie yawned and stretched "All their little emotional talk and humanity just got me so bored... it's just dragged on and on!"

Shaking her head at the small swordsman, Galette extended a hand towards him

"Let's go, I doubt we'll get anything from here for today"

* * *

 **(On the Sunny)**

"So you don't have any mothers? Either of you?" Nami asked, her concern all to evident as she watched the two Kuja on the beds.

"No, Mine died years ago..." Marguerite responded slowly, her voice bearing the strain of being tired, but she was at least doing better than Shirahoshi.

"Ditto, died soon after I was born..." Rindo chimed in, taking her sickness in stride, a fact which unnerved Nami to no end.

"And neither of you are concerned you might die soon?" the navigator tried, hoping that either of the Kuja would give her a bit more of an answer

"We're warriors, the elite of our tribe" Rindo merely responded

"Yeah, if we die, it's fine, at least we've lived beforehand" Marguerite added, managing a little smile, much to Nami's consternation

 _It's like listening to Luffy when I first met him!_ Nami thought to herself _he'd just started out on his journey and he knew (or rather knows _she corrected herself) _nothing about the seas!_ that feeling of similarity rattled Nami to her core, she had to make sure they survived, just like she did with her captain practically everyday.

Nami excused herself and leaft the two Kuja in Chopper and Robins' care.

Aside from checking up on a, so far, stable Shirahoshi, Nami sped towards her study at top speed

A hand on her shoulder made her stop however.

She wasn't surprised to see that it belonged to her captain

"Where are you going Nami?" he asked, his face worried "Have the others gotten worse?"

"No, they haven't gotten worse... or better" she responded with a sad face, before adding with a bit of hope in her eyes "I just thought of something that might save them down the line"

Seeing Luffy crack a grin at this, she added "Could you let me go now"

as he only tilted his head at her plea, she continued, more forcefully

"This has to be done fast!"

* * *

 **(On the seas)**

The horrified screams and pleas were endless!

Even if it was all muffled from within the closed barrel, the scientist Ceasar clown could still make himself the centre of attention.

Or rather, he might have, if his captor wasn't busy fuming at the newspaper.

 _Blasted!_ the large man thought, his grip around the paper tigthening so much he almost crumbled it, _Of all damned, stupid, worthless, annoying, wretched, insignificant, pestering, rotten calamities that could befalll me! If it wasn't bad enough that boy my s..._ shaking his head to remove the horrible thought from his head, he watched the seas with a murderous rage that could make a sea king tremble.

 _If those imbecilic marines with their hypocritical justice and honour and other nonsence cracks the codes in those journals, I'm going to get a lot of problems down the line..._

wiht a deep sneer that made his old scar itch, he concluded that he had to get to Runny Rum as soon as possible.

He already had some of his associates nearby, but he either didn't want them to interfere in this, or knew they weren't fit for the task (Bertram had been trained well, but the dog could carry out an assasination or arsonry... yet).

Folding the newspaper, he grabbed rope tied the barrel to the small vessel and dragged it out of the water, though the screams from within didn't stop.

"Shut it!" he growled, shaking the barrel virgorously, earning him the satisfactory sound of the scientist within hitting his head several times.

"You're going to behave, if not, you better learn how to swim!"

The barrel trembled, it's occupant not having forgotten the last hour he'd been bopping in the waves, sea water getting in through various cracks in the wood. (And all he'd done was call his new captor stupid! never mind the insults to the Strawhat crew, but he did find it odd that this new guy didn't take it so well when he talked about almost killing them all with his weapons).

"Yes sir" a feebel voice emerged, shaking at the knowledge of whom he was dealing with "I'll be good"

"No one said anything about you being good. Do exactly as I tell you and nothing else!"

In the silence that followed, he glared furisouly at the barrel, thinking about the scientists' future

 _I have to find a better container this worthless fool..._

* * *

 **(in Mariejois)**

"So you have to meet up as fast as possible-nyo?" Elder Nyon summarized before the Den Den Mushi, her tone calm and collected, trying not to get worked up despite the dire news she had recieved "And you wan't those kings to know that their daughters got ill all of the sudden-nyo"

"Yes Elder Nyon-sama" the voice of the Cat Burglar Nami rung out of the gastropod, hopeful that Nyon would do what she asked as fast as possible.

Considering the woman was one of Strawhats' nakama, Nyon was happy (or at least content or satisfied) she had decided to send a letter explaining the whole situation to Boa Hancock, not to mention the den den mushi so that they could speak directly (although she knew the empress would be a moopy little teenager for most of their conversation regarding Strawhat).

 _That girl needs to grow up_ Nyon thought with a sigh, hoping against common sense, that she wouldn't be the one to drag her kicking and screaming through it all, though she'd most likely drag Amazon Lily through the same if she thought Strawhat was on the other side, or that she could replace the women on his crew.

"And what about..." the cat burglar began again, before Nyon cut her off

"I don't know who Marguerite and Rindo's father were! it's not normal to remember on our island, it's a cultural thing..." Nyon explained soothingly, hoping to calm the worried woman down, which she doubted she would manage.

yet when next the pirate spoke to her, it was with a more collected tone

"Their father? they're sisters?!" the voice sounded baffled, before speaking again, more muffled this time "Did you tow know about this?"

to Nyon it didn't sound like she was talking to her anymore, which meant that the missing Kuja had to be in the orangehaired pirate's close vicinity.

"No..." and "How would we?" spoken in the weakened voices of her bodyguards confirmed her assumptions, the small feeble laughs that came after made her give off a small smile herself, even in the face of certain death those two could still see the brightside of the situation.

The two sick princesses could be saved, if they made it in time.

But for two kuja to find their only parent in the world, and in the new world no less, and withing a few days... doing that would take a miracle.

"I'll tell the kings about it" she said eventually, not entirely certain what words would be best to console the two terminally ill warriors. But that sort of thing was a part of being Kuja, and especially their pirate branch. They were strong, were they not? Wouldn't they have made peace with the fact that they'd die in combat?

While the answer to both was a _yes_ , being felled in battle or against a wild and savage beast, was signifiantly different from dying from a disease. All of this meant that it wasn't just the Strawhat crews' doctor, or his patients that felt powerless.

as she bid the cat burglar goodbye with sorrow beginning to claw at her voice and ended the call, Nyon couldn't help but think she could do more...

But she'd never met the man and doubted she'd even remember him if she had. In truth she barely remembered Marguerite and Rindo's mothers. Not surprisingly since their community wasn't exactly small and she had seen many a girl grow to womanhood, become a mother and then die off without much fuss. Fathers and men weren't something to be discussed or even noted in history. But somehow their father had been noteworthy, perhaps because he had tried to set foot on Amazon Lily, not for the women, but for something else, but she couldn't remember what it was, nor what he had been called.

Scratching her head in frustration, Nyon groaned and rubbed her face in her palms.

She felt like she was letting her fellow kuja tribeswomen dow by not being able to remember what their fathers' name was, but at least she could make it so that some other fathers could hear about their daughters state.

* * *

 **(On the _Sunny, the infirmery around Noon_ )**

Chopper sweated under his titannic labour.

Trying to make the medicine based on Rebecca's blood would be a problem, But he had to try!

Leaving the rest of the crew with the patients wasn't necesarily the wisest move in the world (Luffy knew absolutely nothing about medicine, he'd once tried to fix his own bandages with pages from the newspaper). Nami and Robin knew a lot more than the rest of the crew and so he could safely put them in charge of the situation.

the others... not so much. He briefly thought about Brooks' or Sanji's perverted sides, though they could (which could go both ways really) set aside this part of their characters, he'd had to put his hoof down and bar them from the womens' bedroom (their default situation, so nothing new really). Or Franky, despite the mans age and knowledge about boatbuilding and how he alledgedly had put himself together after being run over by a train bespoke of some medicaal knowledge. But not the kind that involved medicine. If he had to do anythign some of the women could wake up with a built in sail and cannon (while that would admitedly be cooler than Zoro, swords drawn and ready for action and Franky with a bigger shinnier mechabodyagainst an army of ninja dragons throwing a hailstorm of flaming shuriken at them, Chopper doubted that the Kuja would like it or that it'd even help them in the first place).

Crushing more herbs and minerals in his mortar, the doctor pushed the thoughts about his nakamas' medical knowledge aside, his work was far too important to think about that sort of thing.

Soon he'd have his prototype medicine ready, and when he was done with distilling the bloodsample he'd taken from Rebecca, he'd be ready to administer a medicament to Viola.

Next to his mortar on the worktable, the vials and bottles with the blood, the distilling agents and half a dozen different herbs and two dozen different chemicals bubled away merrily, the mostly red liquid (with strange specs of teal and blue mixed in) slowly turning a light homogenoues orange as it boiled down. He watched it with a satisfied smile.

Soon it'd be ready.

A knock on the door made him turn around to greet Carrot, the white mink sneaking into his room, looking at all the apperatuses he was using at once.

"Hi Bropper!" she began, giving him a sparkly smile "How's it going?"

"In the right direction" the reindeer replied with a smile, which his newly adopted _little sister_ mirrored perfectly "When this is done boiling and have cooled off, I can mix in the herbss, boil it again and then cool it and give it to Viola"

"Coldn't you just mix it all together and give it to her?"

"No... that's not how you treat this medicine, it has to be carefully prepared..." Chopper began to lecture the mink, missing the fact she had the attention span of Luffy, provided there was something to gnaw on, which to Choppers' horror turned out to be one of his medicine books.

As they struggled over ownership of the tome,

they fortunately didn't knock the distellery device over, making it possible to cure Viola's illness.

Hopefully...

* * *

 **(In _Germa Kingdom_ )**

"WHAAAAAT?!" half a dozen kings and their guards cried out in disbelief at the small den den mushi on the table, again.

"I said: The mermaid princess and the princess of Dressrosa have both become very ill, You'll need to get to Runny Rum as soon as you can, so you can help saving them" Nyon repeated, her voice tired, not just because she had told the kings this four times already, but also from stress over the whole situation.

"Oh dear! What is going to happen to my little daughter?" Neptune called out, holding his head and tearing at his hair with his massive fists. Though Pell didn't think there was anything small about the Mermaid princess, her size dwarfing ven her fathers' massive form and from what he had understood, she also had a kind heart, which didn't make for less of a person either, But he shrewdly decided to be silent at this point, at least Princess Vivi wasn't one of the afflicted. I f her father was so weak at this point that he wouldn't survive giving blood, but if he had been forced to, he might have died knowing that he'd saved his daughter.

Violently shaking his head to clear it, Pell watched the kings in the room, he could take the news of the princess' status to King Nefeltari as soon as they were done.

King Riku was hugging a, slightly unnerved, king Elizabello, who could only pat his old friends on the back, crying at the thought of his bedridden daughter (and the stress his little cute grand daughter would be subject to under her aunts' sickness).

Pell cleared his throat, commanding the different Kings' attention

"Please, if I may say something to assauge your fears..."

"No need little guard" a cold voice erupted from the door. Looking at the figure, Pell wasn't surprised to see that it was the king of this moving country, Vinsmoke Judge, flanked by his daughter and the redheaded and greenhaired son (which only left out the second son, still in the infirmary, and the third one, whom was actually liked by his liege (and Pell)).

"We have the best doctors available for when we get those princesses, it's the least we can do!" Pell felt like gagging at his words, as soon as Nefeltari had told him about his plans, he'd disliked the man even more.

"That's only good when we get them back!" Riku blurted out, releasing his grip on the king of Prodence, allowing the huge maan to breathe again.

"Agreed!" King Neptune added "It'd be better if your floating castles could sail faster!" the huge merman king added in, his hands shaking, still full of hair from his head.

"Faster is always a better option! Especially since we know wheer we're going now" Elizabello added in, rubbing his sore ribs, yet he had a smile on his face "By the way, what were you about to say Pell-san?"

"THe Strawhats have an excellent doctor amongst them, the one called _Chopper_ " Pell responded instantly "I wouldn't be surprised if he'd already made strides to cure your daughters as we speak!"

"Who is this Chopper?" Judge demanded, looking down his nose at the champion of Alabasta "I haven't heard of him"

"I think it's their Pet father" his daughter replied, beating Pell to it, which left Judge less pleased than before

"You put their lives in the hands of some Tanuki?! have you so little care for them?"

Pell could see what Judge was doing, trying to shift the blame to him, so that the kings frustrations would be directed elsewhere and miscredit him, fortuantely it didn't seem the kings were biting

"I've met that little _REINDEER"_ Neptune retorted, his beard blustering _"_ If the Strawhats trust him then so do I!"

"Yes, despite what has happened, the strawhats saved them from the claws of other Pirate crews, even if this has happened, we can trust them to keep our girls safe!" King Riku added, his eyes hard like steel. Pell was starting to respect him even more.

"Are you all done panicking-nyo?" the elderly woman's voice arose from the Den den mushi again "Get to the Archipelago and you're practicaly certain of saving your daughters"

"That's right Nyon-dono" rasped another figure that had emerged from behind Judge, Pell was horrified to see that it was his own king, bound to a wheelchair pushed by one of the castle staff.

"Your majesty! You were suppposed to be resting!" he said as he hurried to Cobra's side.

"Pell, stop worrying, I'm better now" the king said, though his struggled breathing spoke othervise. "This charming lady here" he motioned to the woman pushing his wheelchair "have already filled me in on what's going on, I'm sorry to hear about your daughters, Neptune-dono and Riku-dono"

"One gets up and so can 4 others-nyo, this is something to be happy about-nyon"

"I'm sorry to hear about your guards Nyon-dono, both were so charming"

"Yes, I remember you smiling alot at both, Cobra-dono-nyo" the voice of elder Nyon was calm but laced with a chasticing element that Pell couldn't help but like a little "But your concern is appreciated" the woman spoke again, her tone more welcoming.

"You couldn't send a cousin, sister or aunt for them?" Elizabello inquired slowly, hoping to lift the old womans spirits.

"No, they're all either dead of too far away from Runny Rum, they couldn't make it in time if they had set out last week-nyo"

"So sad when a pretty bird dies" one of the Vinsmoke sons commented "Two is just a big loss" if he hadn't been smiling, Pell might have thought he was sincere, part of him possibly was, but only for the loss of more tail to follow (Pell had heard more than a few of the staff gossip about his treatment of them, and it made his skin crawl).

"Well..." Elizabello said with a nervous grimace "At least they can enjoy that museum while they're there..."

While the rest of the oyalty and aides gave him a chastising look, the elderly Kuja seemed a bit perplexed at this idea "What museum?"

"It's a pirate museum on Runny Rum, all about criminals, pirates and smugglers... it was in todays newspaper..." the king of Prodence elaborated, a sheepishness coming over his voice as it dawned on him how unsuited his suggestion had been

"Oh, I got the Newspaper right here... one second-nyo"

the following silence on the other end made Pell, and several of the royals both concerned and puzzled.

"Eh... Elder Nyon?" Pell tried slowly,

only getting a strange wheezing sound in return...

* * *

 **(In _mariejois_ )**

Elder Nyons' lower jaw slowly hit the floor with barely a sound, and returned with a snap.

She couldn't believe what she was seeing.

Some random article,

in an completely worthless newspaper,

gave her exactly what she had needed.

"Elder Nyon-san are you well?" the voice of noe of the kings' aides erupted from the den denmushi on the table next to her, breaking Nyon's bafflement at her discovery.

"I'm... well...-nyo" the old woman replied, her eyes still glued to the article in her lap.

"You got silent for a moment, so we wondered if something had happened to you?" the Aide continued

"Just... reading-nyo"

Nyon was remotely aware of the small discussion in the background about being caught up in the article, which only derw her ire

"I can hear you, King of Proidence..." at the sound of her voice the background chatter ceased, She could almost see the huge man scratch his the back of his head in embarasment, but she could also still hear someone snicker (supposedly at her) somewhere in the room that the snail connected her to.

Choosing to ignore it, she shook her head vigorously trying to focus Again, reading the same section Again and Again.

"Elder Nyon? are you there?" Another voice asked from the den den mushi.

"Y-yes... I'll call you back, I have to call Strawhat and his crew immediately" She said her mind turning into a storm as a lot of old memories began to click together in her ancient head.

Before there could be any objections, Nyon spoke again

"If you have questions, I'll explain as soon as I've talked with Strawhat and his crew, I Promise-nyo"

And with that she ended the call,

and,

still trying to catch heads or tails of what she'd realised,

begining to get a hold on all of this, hoping that she wasn't mistaken,

because this sort of coincidence was so lucky that it belonged in odd stories or that silly comic in the newspaper.

She rubbed her eyes, trying to think it through, if she was wrong, the girls would get false hopes, if she was right... even then a bit of false hope was to be expected, but at least they knew they had a chance,

though it was a slim one at best.

* * *

 **(On the _Sunny_ late afternoon)**

Nami looked worried at Chopper as he again checked up on VIola's condition.

He'd administered the antidote hours ago and it hadn't helped much as far as Nami could tell.

"It's not stopping the disease..." Chopper groaned, his head dropping in shame

Nami swiftly hugged the Little teddybearsized reindeer, both to comfort him and also to try and make him ignore some of his shame, the Little guy was so prioud of his medicinal abilities so the rare times he failed he took it almost as bad as his patients did.

Fortunately this particular patient didn't blame the doctor his shortcomings

"Don't worry Doctor-san, I'm much better now thanks to you" Viola smiled feebly at him, Rebecca and Sanji at her sides (once Again someone had disregarded Choppers _doctors' orders_ and done just what they wanted to, though Viola certainly didn't seem to mind).

"A little better isn't good enough!" the doctor wailed, with Sanji and Rebecca chiming in "You might be a bit better, but that's not something that'll last for long!"Chopper ranted on "And just you!" he pointed a hoof at Viola "and not all the others! definetly isn't good enough!" Though Sanji slapped away the hoof and looked like he was about to admonish the smaller pirate, Chopper continued unabated "This only shows that the disease does exactly what the book says it does! The longer you wait before getting cured, the closer the relative have to be! A niece isn't close enough!"

"If that's true, why don't you try curing the Kuja-chans? They're sisters, it should work!"

"I can't make an antidote based on contaminated blood Sanji, just drawing it could kill both of them" almost on cue Marguerite spasmed, her coughing sounding like she was being choked with water, sending Chopper scrambling to her bed and chills down Nami's spine. The sick womens' condition reminded her of when she'd gotten sick and Luffy had to carry her to a doctor. Chopper had cured her, but she still remembered the feeling of weakness, of feeling like nothing existed but that.

"Chopper, can't you give them something that eases their _discomfort_ a little?" Nami tried with a hopeful tone

"I've already made one, and administered it to them..." Chopper responded, his back turned "I'm afraid this is the best I can do for the time being..."

An uncomfortable silence came over the room, Nami feeling like she couldn't breathe for the tension in the air, not like when battle was about to happen, but that some other tragedy would occur within moments.

She had to get out of the room.

Shirahoshi and Viola would suffer, but as soon as they got reunited with their fathers, they could make an antidote out of their blood and save them princesses.

It was different with Marguerite and Rindo. Though Nami hadn't spoken much with either one, she could appreciate that Marguerite had saved Luffy's life on Amazon Lily (what devilfruit user was dumb enought to swim anyway? and in the calm belt no less, where there were more sea kings per square miles that there were in the entire East Blue! Naturally the answer was Luffy... but he'd been trying to get back to the crew so Nami reckoned it was ok he was more reckless than normally) and that Rindo had stood up to Viola, although either Kuja's ignorance about devilfruits and men made Nami cringe a little.

Nami didn't want either of the two to die (she wanted very few to perish really, save for a few enemies, Big Mom and Arlong and that sort of maniacal monsters) but if they didn't find some sort of cure, Nami'd watch them do just that.

Sighing heavily, Nami watched a still sweaty and shivering Shirahoshi on the main deck, her huge form covered by a spare sail, which Franky, Brook, Usopp and Jinbe were replacing with a clean and dry one. Nami noted that neither Brook nor Usopp were checking out the bedridden young princess while they worked. Carrot was busy wiping her moist forehead, jumping back and forth to clean the cloth in a bucket of water.

Up on the bridge, Nami could see Luffy watching the same scene and Zoro (who hadn't taken his normal midmorning nap) behind the wheel. Robin and Vivi were the only ones not out on deck.

Nami hated this sort of feeling, not being able to do anyhting and just leave all the work to Chopper and then wait for the inevitable. She figured it was worse for her captain, as he was all about doig things and looking where it all took them, not waiting for tragedy to descend on them. Part of that was perhaps because he didn't understand the situation they were in, but Nami knew, deep down, that he did. He'd been poisoned at fishman island and almost died in Impel down, he'd seen Nami's condition when they were in Drum Kingdom, so there was no way for him not to understand.

"Luffy! Nami!" at the sound of her name, the navigator turned to Robin whom had emerged from the library, the den den mushi held high in her hand "It's a call from Elder Nyon, I think You'll want to hear this!"

Though Nami was closer to the archeologist, Luffy still beat her to the woman by jumping (if it wasn't his default mode to be hyperactive Nami would've thought it only was borne of worry for their guests, though the way he slumped his shoulders told her that she wasn't all wrong).

Dragging the captain with her into the library, sharlplly followed by Jinbe (perhaps curious as to what the elder kuja wanted, though she also knew he would give the best advice for Luffy, or at least what he was more likely to listen to, for which she was a bit jealous, as she considered that **her** position on the crew).

"Strawhat-nyo?" the old voice rang out from the snail, calling Nami back to reality from her musings.

"Yeah I'm here, what's up Old lady Neon?" the captain went on, oblivious to the angry grona the emerged from Nami, Jinbe and Elder Nyon. Fortunately the latter let it slide for the time being

"I've discovered somehting important that could save Marguerite and Rindo's lives, the i..." more the old woman didn't get to say before Luffy howled with joy and snathched the den den mushi from Robins' outstretched hand and ran for the door before anyone could stop him, though Nami tried valiantly.

Clinging on to his midsection, Nami practically flew behind the strawhat captain like a banner, surprising alll those on deck and only stopping her wavering when Luffy halted to open the door to the girls quarter.

"Hey guys, you gotta hear this!"

"DAMMIT STRAWHAT! I'M TRYING TO TALK HERE-NYO!" the angry voice of Nyon thundered out of the den den mushi, drowning out any outburst that might have come from either Chopper, sanji, or any of the four women in the makeshift infirmery. Nami could only assume that some of them had some objections to him just bursting in, but she was still a bit winded from trying to keep her grip (which might be why Sanji was looking jealously at Luffy) so she had more pressing concerns.

"Yeah, Yeah I know! I wanted 'em to hear this!" the captain blurted out happilyholding the snail in front of him with a exultant grin. Behind him Nami could hear the rest of the crew coming running, eager to investigate what was happpening, which naturally meant that, when Nami turned to see the onrushing tidalwave of flesh, bone, afro, fur and cyborg, get firmly stuck in the doorway.

The sight of the crew stuggling, bits and pieces of them sticking out at odd angles, part of Usoopps' afro here, a bit of Vivi's ponytail there, all stuck in between the massive forms of Jinbe and Franky, was enough to make her laugh out loud, despite knowing it'd be hell to get them loose later on.

Luffy agreed heartily and even Chopper and the Kuja joined in at the sight.

"ARE YOU ALL DONE-NYO?" the angry elder called from the den den mushi, making the little gastropod jump in fury "YES? GOOD! Now..." Elder Nyon paused, which to Nami meant she had asssumed that somebody would cut her off, when that didn't happen the old kuja continued, albeit a bit disappointed initially "...As I was saying, I've found out how to save Rindo and Marguerite..." again she paused, allowing the happy cheers the crew erupted in to cool down "I've finally managed to find the identity of their father"

in the silence that followed, the only ones that dared to speak were the two kuja

"Whaaaaaa?" both tilting their heads in the beds, almost getting up in shock at the revelation

"I found his name in the newspaper of all places!" Nyon continued, she herself baffled by the turn of events "I know how it sounds, but I found his name in an article about Runy Rum, where you're going already!"

Nami blinked, and she wasn't alone.

Nyon was right about how preposterous it sounded, finding exactly what they needed to save lives in the newspaper.

"Who is it then?" someone blurted out, and Nyon said four little words that,

down the line, without any on them knowing it,

would change almost everything for the Strawhat crew on their further adventures:

" _Coyle the Fruit Merchant_..."

the name meant nothing to Nami, nor most of the others in the room,

but she didn't doubt she'd find out more in the newspaper, as soon as she got to reading it...

* * *

( **In _Germa Kingdom_** )

"So it's decided, you will go now Ichiji, and do what must be done for us to come out on top in this monstrous mess!"

the only ones present in the hospital room were the Vinsmoke family (minus Sanji), three of Judges' children standing, while a fourth, Niji, was still bedridden from his injuries.

"... Are you sure this is a good idea father?" Reiju inquired, her usual cool replaced with a look of worry, thinking of what their spies had told them about what had transpired "This might be more trouble than..."

"Of course I'm sure! We must maintain an edge for when all of this is done!" Judge snapped at his daughter, silencing the princess momentarily

"But... what about?" Reiju tillted her head toowards her blue haired brother in the bed.

"The assailant will be found and brought to justice! OUR JUSTICE!" Judge growled angrily, furious at the memory of his battered son and that the one responsible had escaped and even wrought havoc within his own territory "as soon as the wanted poster of this man is set in circulation, the marines can't take long to find him, that a person with those looks shouldn't be too hard to find for Cipher Pol"

Smiling grimly at his children (the one he cared to claim as his own at least) Judge rubbed his hands in anticipation "After what we're giving the world government, We'll achieve all of our goals sooner than I planned!"

* * *

 **(on the _Sunny_ , at night time)**

Dinner that night had been a shifting affair, part festive from the news they'd recieved, part depressed because of how big a longshot it was, Nami had read a bit of the article and it didn't seem that their mystrious father would be easy to find, having been dead for decades.

But at least the article spoke about relatives, and that was a small hope.

another small hope was for Choppers' medicine to work for long enough to get them to any relative they might have left on the seas.

Nami was out on the deck, looking at Sanji trying to feed Shirahoshi some of the stew he'd made, using his attack cuisine to make a dish that was, filled with plenty of nutrients and easy on the stomach, while also amazing for the immune system (Though Chopper hadn't given the idea much credit, which almost had seem the pair having a fight, Nami neever thought she'd ssay it, but thank goodness Zoro were there to stop the violence).

Looking at the front end of the ship, Nami could see she wasn't the only on on deck, Luffy having taken up his usual position on the figurehead.

When Nami got up to him, she stood silent for a moment unsure what to say, not knowing what went on in that crazy head of his

"When'll we be there Nami?"

taken aback by his sudden question, Namii sighed at him, though a bit happy he'd spoken first "If the wind id with us, we'll be at Runny Rum Tomorrow evening Luffy"

"Can't we fire up the _Coup de burst_ and get there faster?" he turned to her, a hopeful look in his eyes

"Franky has already said that we barely have enough cola for him to function, a _burst_ is out of the question"

Seeing her captain sulk, made Nami pat him on the shoulder "Don't worry, Chopper'll make sure no one gets worse" her reassurance was for both of them, the little reindeer hadn't been so optimistic himself, and had proven not to be getting any better over dinner, even if Sanji had made him alot of sweets to thank his for his work on Viola (though more than half had beeen stolen by Carrot).

"Who's this Coyle guy anyway?"

Who knows Luffy, he got a place in the museum for pirates and criminals, so he'ss bound to have been a bit of a problem back in his day, but we'll found out more when we get there"

"You think they got somethign about Ace?" Lufy said hopefully, looking up at the stars

"Most likely, I think they've got one for us as well by now I think, Whitebeard and Roger too" Nami responded mirroring the crews captain "We were going to go there anyway..."

"Why?" he gazed at her confused

"Because I think the crew would like to see it, especially you" she smiled at him

"Why's that?"

"You'll see when we get there" Nami simply said "And no whining about it! I want you guys to be surprised when we get there"

her followup had stopped Luffy from complaining, but instead of sulking, he smiled "What kind of surprise? A fun one?"

"A great one! and no more questions now" turning on her heel, she walked away "I'm going to read the article for Rindo and Marguerite, getting them to know a bit about their dad, You wann come or are you going to stay here and look bored at the sea?"

Naturally, the Strawhat captain followed without hesitation.

Nami smiled, the wheels in her head turning at an almost alarming rate, her thoughts centered around the look on Luffy's face when they reached the museum:

 _When he sees the surprise, he's going to be so happy,_

 _I bet he'll even agree to cut down on his own meat rations!_ she thought gleefully.

* * *

 **end of chapter 14**

 **One more chapter down for the loyal followers**

Next chapter: Finally the crew arrives at Runny Rum Archiepelago! I've been building up to this since my previous fic's epilogue, so it's exciting to finally get to the intricate story, where a lot of these different story threads are weaved together.

It might take a while before I get the next chapter done as my vacation is about to end.

 **Threads this time around**

 **Strawhats:** have discovered that several of their guests have fallen ill with a terminal disease, they're taking precautions to help them survive, which means searching for someone who was reported dead long ago.

 **Big Mom Pirates:** keeping their eyes on the marines **.**

 **Marines:** trying to discover the secrets of the Smuggler known as _Coyle the Fruit Merchant_ , and mistreating their prisoner Ain (from the movie Z) along the way for good measure.

 **The mysterious party** : Is also making their way to Runny Rum, mistreating Ceasar Clown all the way.

 **The Royals:** while some are panicking about their daughters' condition, others are scheming.

RnR if you'd be so kind.


	15. Chapter 15: Enter Runny Rum Archiepelago

**Blood ties like Iron chains chapter 15**

 **Enter Runny Rum Archipelago**

* * *

 **(On the** _ **Sunny**_ **early morning** )

Nami stirred, her eyes blinking as she yawned.

It had gotten late the previous evening, with Nami reading the article (slash commercial) for Rindo and Marguerite (and Viola, Rebecca, Vivi, Carrot, Chopper, Luffy, Usopp and Jinbe, who'd also managed to squeeze into the girls' quarter, much to Sanji's chagrin) and later a fairy tale about a princess, a prince and a tiger, both of whom wanted marry her (most of the time had been spent explaining the two kuja what a prince was, what gender it was, and why the princess would want to marry the prince over the tiger as it seemed pretty pleasant in the story and could fight alongside her if need be).

Blinking again, Nami found that she had fallen asleep upright against the wall, the book in her lab, Luffy leaning against the spot between her shoulder and bosom, his trademark headwear around his neck, fast asleep.

Looking over the other she found Carrot next to Viola and Rebecca, keeping them warm, Jinbe merely sat on the floor, his breathing ca…

Namis' head almost snapped around when she looked down at her captain again.

Many men would go to hades to be where his head were at this point, and truth be told if it wasn't because she knew Luffy, she'd be sending him there too.

She gently lifted up his head and set it to rest against the wall before she dared to moved, only to have Luffy's head immediately slam back, pinning her down on the spot. It wasn't uncomfortable, just awkward, especially if anyone caught her in that position (The ships resident pervs would definitely never forget it, that much was certain, even after she'd beaten them to a pulp).

Nami quickly glanced in Viola's direction, hoping the situation with Shirahoshi hadn't repeated itself. Finding the princess fast asleep, Nami smiled, both at that and that she looked markedly better than Rindo and Marguerite, both Kuja looking horrible, sweaty and tired even in their sleep, but at least they weren't plagued by nightmares.

Perhaps that came from hearing a bit about their father, this _Coyle_ , also called _the Fruit Merchant_. The article hadn't gone into deep detail about him, only saying he was a smuggler that specialised in devilfruits, and not just acquiring and selling them, but also research and some sort of special unique Haki usage. It also stated that he'd been dead for years, being killed by some Vice Admiral a year or so before Roger was executed. But it also stated that the museum had several journals and a logbook that he'd written telling a lot of his secrets, even, supposedly, something about his family.

And if they could track down some of his relatives, and fast, they could save Rindo and Marguerite.

It was a longshot, but it was the best they had. And they'd gotten by on worse before (Luffy vs Enel, Luffy eating the only normal apple out a basket of poisoned ones, Luffy jumping with her and the others from Zou, Nami not beating him to a pulp long ago for all the stupid things he did, just to name a few).

Taking a hold on the Strawhat, Nami trusted to luck and took it away from the captain, whose eyes immediately shot open and bolted for the headwear.

Nami had to stifle a giggle "Good to see you up captain" glad that she hadn't simply said, Breakfast and have him bolt from his place and wake up the entire room "How about we get up and see how far we've come?"

"Sure, You think Sanji's made food yet?" he said as he stretched, almost hitting her in the head with an arm.

"I don't know, I think he'll jump in to check up on the girls, if he can take his eyes off Shirahoshi on the deck first"

As they left the cabin, Nami made sure not to disturb the others and leave them to have some rest.

Outside a fresh wind blew, filling the sails and sending the Sunny in the right direction.

Nami smiled "If the wind holds, we'll make it to Runny Rum in a few hours"

"Cool, I can't wait" Luffy grinned, whether it was because they were going somewhere else or that they might get a cure, Nami didn't know. Either option appealed to her as well.

"Excuse me, coming through" Chopper darted past them, his medicine bag in one hoof and a stethoscope in the other, aiming straight for the Girls quarters.

Nami barely had time to see what he was doing, before he shut the door with a bang, and then opened it a moment later to shove the men in the cabin out, no doubt to give the women some privacy.

While Usopp grumbled at being woken up, Jinbe took it as stoically as he did everything, his only response brushing his kimono off.

Luffy simply stretched and wandered off for breakfast, laughing as he went, even though Sanji and Brook both stared at him, the skeleton clearly envious and Sanji in a state of shock. A teary-eyed "You spent the night in their room?" was all the chef could manage before Luffy blurted out "Is breakfast ready?" oblivious to his nakama's plight.

Nami couldn't supress a smile as the Vinsmoke prince meekly replied with a "Pancakes", sending Luffy at top speed towards the kitchen. She shook her head as the chef balled a fist and vowed not to leave any of the women's' side when they reached their destination.

 _As if we'd take all of them with us into the_ _museum_ she thought as she tried keep pace with Luffy, hoping to ensure that their captain didn't leave the rest of the crew starving.

Fortunately, she had just the means to ensure that.

As soon as she saw Luffy reach the stacked tables, she pursed her lips and said: "Gushishishi…"

The effect on Luffy was instantaneous, sending him shivering to the wall, holding onto it for dear life. Nami knew it wasn't a kind thing to do to him, but it made sure the rest of them could eat without him stealing from their plates (at least for a while, Sanji's cooking could make the dead rise to get a bite, so a terrified glutton was no problem at all).

Hopefully, they'd someday find out what scared him so much about that… _laugh_.

But right now the important thing was to save their friends. Shirahoshi hadn't looked like she'd be improving anytime soon, but at least Viola could talk, even if she was too weak to walk on her own (a fact which she was sure to exploit with Sanji again).

Shrugging at the thought, Nami focussed on the future:

They had agreed to meet up with the kings of Alabasta, Dressrosa and Ryugu Kingdom on Runny Rum. As soon as that was done, and Shirahoshi and Viola had been given the medical aid and the blood of their fathers, the crew was on to the next point, which was:

Getting Rindo and Marguerite off to whatever distant relative on their fathers side so that they could survive too (while she hadn't had any deepfelt conversations with either, their ignorance about men was endearing).

Franky and Sanji had to gather provisions somehow, since they were a little short on funds perhaps they could get some money from the Kings, since the crew had saved their daughters, it was the least they could do (and give them some food, and a party when they had managed to cure the two kuja).

If they could: prepare for their fight against Kaido and try not to get killed by some other Yonko crew in the meantime. Nami hadn't forgotten about the obliterated ship they'd found the other day, which lead to the last point:

Find out who it was that had destroyed that ship and how they knew about the princesses being on the Sunny. But that particular one could wait until point 1-3 was done with.

Looking at the table as the rest of the crew streamed in, giving Luffy odd glances on the way, Nami ouldnt help but feel that everything would work out to their advantage.

The navigator smiled warmly at Vivi when the bluenette sat down next to her, a pondering look on her face

"What's on you mind Vivi?"

"Well Nami…." Vivi began, fingers folded in front of her face "I've been meaning to ask you… if you could do me a favour?"

As she leaned in to whisper her request in Nami's ear, the navigator couldn't help but laugh

"Sure, we'll get to it when we've finished breakfast!"

* * *

 **(On one of** _ **Runny Rum archipelagos**_ **minor islands)**

"Should we wake her up?" a female voice asked, its' owner hiding behind the fence of her house, hoping that her particular neighbour wouldn't notice her.

"It might be best if we let her sleep it off" another woman next to her added, fearfully glancing at that **house**.

The previous day, their neighbour, or as they might call her (but only late at night when they had had a cup too many and were certain she couldn't hear them) their Benevolent and unintended calamity (usually just Miss Fran, except she insisted she was married, though no one believed her), had gotten a call by den den mushi, a rarity on the island, that someone was nearing their little backwater home. For some reason, she hadn't taken the news well, because she'd almost drunk herself into a stupor and sat down on her porch, cursing all the time, which, if it hadn't all been grumbled, would have enriching all their daughters and sons' vocabulary with a tidalwave of four letter words and phrases that could make a Yonko pause and blush.

As far as they could gather (from extremely careful questioning at a safe distance, and with a healthy bribe of meat) Someone could very well be on the way, someone, whom Miss Fran expected to drop by.

"Wait…" one housewife spoke out, thoughtful "…If she expects company…."

"….then…." continued another, fear evident in her voice

"She'll…." A third housewife added with rising terror

"We-gotta-get-to-work-STAT!" the first spoke so fast her words were barely audible, yet everyone understood, because their thoughts were the same.

We gotta make sure to clean it up before Fran wakes up!

They still hadn't forgotten last time Fran had gone around to do some _housework, (_ some of their cows were still giving sour milk) _._

So, after tiptoeing back to their own homes for the necessary utilities, the housewives started to sneak towards their objective, praying with all their hearts that Fran wouldn't wake up and try to help.

* * *

 **(on the** _ **Sunny**_ **)**

"You're doing great Vivi!" Nami said, clapping her hands at her friends performance.

Luffy didn't get it personally, to him it was enough that Nami could use her _weather-magic_ , though seeing Nami teaching it to Vivi as they neared the Archipelago wasn't a bad way to pass the time, especially when the princess of Alabasta kept hitting herself over the head with one of Nami's old staves.

After yet another smack to the head Vivi rubbed the sore spot with a groan "Can I try the newer one? This hurts!"

"Sure, just try not to…" she didn't get to say anymore, for as Vivi gripped the latest Clima-Tact activating the extension mechanism.

One point swiftly meet with the railing, while the other connected with the inside of Luffy's mouth, sending him into the wall.

Even Shirahoshi giggled at the sight of a skewered captain, while Nami couldn't stop herself from falling down on her back, holding her stomach in cramps.

Luffy eventually, after he'd been let down by a very sorry Vivi, snickered a little himself.

When it happened again for the third time his patience was a little spent though, which Prompted Vivi to use Nami's first clima-tact, the one she'd used in Alabasta against miss Doublefinger.

"Why'd you want to learn this any way Vivi?" he said with a groan, rubbing his jaw, trying to get the ache out of his mouth.

Looking at him, Vivi gave him a blushing smile "I just want…" she began, looking down sheepishly "…To be able to take care of myself in a fight, just in case…"

"A wise decision, wouldn't you agree Captain?"

Luffy turned, eyeing his newest nakama with a raised eyebrow, chewing a little on his lip "Sure Jinbe… but does she need that? We beat Crocodile in Alabasta so the place's as safe as my Strawhat on my head!" pointing to his namesake headwear, his face remained a mask of confusion.

"It's because…" Vivi began, and as Luffy turned to her, he saw that she giving him the puppy-dog eyes "I'd like to travel with you guys for a while… if that's okay with you?"

As Nami gave her friend a hug and let out a squee, Luffy looked at her lopsidedly, still confused, but eventually smiled "Sure, we'd be happy to have you again" giving her a thumbs-up and a grin, leaving the bluenette smiling beyond belief.

While she and Nami celebrated, mainly jumping up and down like crazy, Luffy felt a tap on his shoulder.

"Captain we'll be at Runny Rum within the hour, I suggest we get ready for it"

"Sure Jinbe, but how? We just need food and to visit that mausoleum, right?"

"Museum Luffy….." Jinbe responded with a deadpan expression "We should decide who are to do what, when we arrive, so as to…"

"Aww planning is so boring!" Luffy moaned at the fishman "Where's the fun in all that?"

"Safety trumps fun captain" Jinbe simply responded, shoulders slouching "And so does completing the mission we've undertaken"

"Can't we have fun in the meantime"

"…I'ts possible…. But not…" Jinbe was going to say _prudent_ but Luffy was already rubbing his hands in glee at the adventure ahead (which so far he was the only one that could see).

Pinching the bridge of his nose, the fishman changed his tone "I may have some suggestions as to who does what so that we all get to have more fun… If that's ok with you of course"

Luffy just gave him the thumbs up and an overeager smile.

Adventure, danger, fun, meat…. Luffy could almost smell all of that meat he was going to get for himself as soon as the girls had been cured of their sickness.

He didn't quite understand why Nami gave Jinbe fist bump as the captain was turning around (with Vivi giving them both a weird look).

Then something strange happened:

Luffy had an idea.

One that didn't have anything to do with battling (or meat).

"Uhhhh, how're we gonna find Rindo and Marguerite's family anyway?"

Turning around again, the rubberman saw that Jinbe was also thinking this over "True, even with their fathers journal, we'll have trouble finding any relatives…"

Nami scoffed with a smile "Don't worry" her tone had a strange finality to it, which Luffy recognised from whenever she said where they should go or when calling dips on treasure "I've got it covered"

"How?" the question was from both captain and helmsman, either men giving her a confused look.

"Nope" Nami simply said with folded arms "If I tell you, it'll just ruin the surprise…."

"But Nami-san, we need to know as much as possible to plan…"

"She said it'll ruin the surprise Jinbe! Stop asking questions!"

"… I assume that means you're both going to the museum then?"

Luffy didn't even realise that Nami was nodding her confirmation, only blurting out "If that's where the surprise is, then YES, I'm definitely going!"

A small look then happened between helmsman and navigator, one cocking ann eyebrow at her, silently asking: _what is going on_? while the other could answer with a: _I'll tell you later_.

"So, am I going to get a little more training before we arrive or…." Vivi said after a short while, for which Nami gripped her shoulder and led her towards the main deck, making sure that the others' weren't in her immediate attack-zone.

* * *

 **(near the harbour on** _ **Runny Rums'**_ **main island)**

Wind in the sails, a great port ahead of him, friends at his side and an adventure (and fights, soooo many fights!) waiting to happen from all sides at once, this was life!

On their way there they hadn't heard any news about that blasted mermaid, and truth be told he was only a millimetre away from giving up on the whole thing.

But that millimetre also held the hope that he'd somehow get what he wanted from King Neptune.

And what a hope it was!

His crew would be the strongest of them all!

If only he could get his hands on that mermaid.

The other princesses would give him a nice leverage too, gold and a hefty raise to his bounty was always a bonus after all. The few ships they'd attacked hadn't put their names that far in the news, in fact they hadn't been mentioned. Most of what the journal said was about the missing princesses, and something odd about that has-been-smuggler and disease-ridden octopuses….

Shaking his head, he gazed back at their destination. All those marine ships was forcing them to go in the back door of the place, to one of the seedier piers, where all the poor merchants moored, alongside smugglers, small pirate crews, ships of the underworld and other of the seas' bile and scum.

But soon,

When he'd found that mermaid and cashed in with her dad:

He'd dominate that port and start setting his real mark on the seas!

All his brothers would be green with envy….

* * *

 **(On the main island, within one of the marine bases' evidence locker** )

Redcliff leaned back and yawned.

The previous days' work, or rather being told to take the day off, had set him in a foul mood.

Having a day off was one thing, but being on desk duty, watching over some worthless items, especially when he could've been searching the island for pirates and their ilk, was too much!

But, as Rear Admiral Malta had explained to him: _obey or you'll be demoted to rank of sailor,_ he didn't really have a say in such matters.

Fortunately, he'd brought plenty of entertainment: brand new wanted posters of the Strawhat pirate crew, he could stab to his hearts' content.

Redcliff briefly looked at one of the newly arrived items through the bars behind him, a dagger used to kill some minor black-market dealer.

It wasn't particularly special, but to the marine captain, it gave off a strange vibe of bloodshed and coldness that he just didn't like one bit. Looking at the other object that had been fetched from the scene of murder, he wondered what was in the briefcase, but whenever someone had attempted to open it, they'd been scared off by some eerie premonition of death. Most likely by dagger.

In fact, he was getting that feeling right now, the hairs at the back of his neck rising like a cats'. He felt v ery alone in the room all of a sudden, but he'd sent the others away for more evidence that needed to be hauled and stored.

He hurried to look back at the wanted posters on the desk.

Strawhat (monstrous son of Dragon! How Garp ended up having a foul grandson like that, was beyond him. One of life's great tragedies he assumed).

Cat Burglar (SCUM SCUM SCUM! And she dressed lewdly too!).

And that… odd pet of theirs! Cotton candy lover Chopper (why the rear admiral had brushed off his report on the beasts' ability to transform was beyond him as well).

Gripping his dagger tightly, he stabbed repeatedly into either one of the posters, the tearing of paper and dull thud of breaking wood filling the room. And of course, his own frantic laughter as he imagined doing the same with the real ones also joined in eventually.

The crazed captain was so caught up in the act that he didn't notice the dagger begin to tremble.

And the sprout a leg!

And another.

A set of arms followed and finally the dagger turned into a man,

A tall man in a hat and matching trench coat.

Grabbing the suitcase, he walked over to the bars, and, once again, turned partially into a knife, easily slipping through the gates with his luggage, emerging unnoticed behind the stabby happy mariner.

He didn't remain undetected for long.

Redcliff had just raised his dagger, a little higher now than before, preparing to plunge it down hard, aiming right for the cat burglars' neck, when he noticed a person in front of him.

The man had moved so fast he'd practically materialised out of thin air.

But air, he was not, which Redcliff found out the hard way: a punch straight too the face, sending him crashing into the bars behind, effortlessly bending the dark metal and blowing the locked door off it's hinges.

Redcliff slumped back on the ground, his wiry body joining the heap of items and the twisted door, unconscious and as battered as an ancient sandbag.

The standing man merely scoffed at the sight before turning to leave out the barred window.

"You just be happy, I'm not tasked with killing you…." The man said in a voice so monotone that it'd have rattled Redcliff if he'd heard it.

The man hesitated before leaving, a small shade of hope in his words "But the boss might reconsider that, especially after your little idiocy with those posters…. He might take it the wrong way…"

* * *

 **(On the** _ **Sunny, an hour later**_ **)**

"Wooooooooaw! THIS IS SO COOL!"

Luffy had seen plenty of harbours, but this one was really amazing, it was like seeing _Water 7,_ but bigger, with way more ships from a hundred different kingdoms and organisations: Marines, the World Government, Pirate crews, merchants and everyone else that'd travel in the New World.

Even here from a distance, he could see most of the main port sprawl out like a blanket, a town behind it, covering the small mountain that compromised the main island of the archipelago. The town itself was wrought with multiple story houses and was divided in four levels, one was for the ports and beaches, the second was for the houses and the shops and the third level was the wealthy quarter which Nami had said housed the museum they were going to. The final level was compromised of the massive marine base that guarded the entire archipelago, though to anyone that saw it, it was more like an enormous fortress shaped like a white and beige crown.

Luffy could vaguely make out the enormous cannons that pointed outwards at the surrounding waters.

He was certain that they were pointing at them for some reason.

Suddenly one of the cannons fired, belching a cloud of flame and black smoke from its mussel, the roar being akin to the thunderous howls that Big Mom could produce in her quest for wedding cake, the projectile thundering through the air towards the sea.

A moment later it pulverized a ship far off to starboard of the Sunny.

"What the heck are they doing?"

"It was another pirate crew!" Jinbe hollered behind him "This place keeps a tight ship! That's why we struck all flags and changed the sail remember?"

"Yeah…." Luffy simply responded

"And it's also why we don't sail into the middle of the main port, but try and get to one of the smaller ones at the side" Luffy turned to Nami with a smile "But won't that take too long? We need to do this fast right?"

"We also need to be safe remember? We voted on this too and you and Zoro were in the minority" inwardly Luffy didn't like it when Nami used words he didn't know, but if the _mino… something_ was used with food, it was possibly a bad thing.

"As soon as we dock, I'm finding all the things I need to repair the Sunny!" Franky exclaimed happily, striking his signature pose "It's gonna get Suuuuuupeeeeer!"

"And Sanji'll get all the food we need" Chopper added in, jumping with glee before turning deadly serious "And I'll stay on board to see to the sick girls!"

"I wanna stay with the girl-chans too!"

"You can't stay crappy chef, who's going to get the food? Usopp?"

"Why don't you do it mosshead?"

"Because I'm parched, I'm going to get a drink and stock up before I do anything!"

"Plus, he'll get lost before he's out of sight" Usopp piped in.

"I won't get lost, the food will get lost, sure, and the rest of you… but not me! As long as I can smell Sake I'm not lost in that city"

"Let's focus for a second guys! Luffy, Robin, Jinbe and I are off to the museum, Sanji goes for food and Franky gets the wood for repairs, the rest needs to stay put or try not to stray too far from the ship"

"Depends on where the bars are" the swordsman dryly responded with a shrug

"Could someone go with Zoro and keep him close to the ship? Please?"

"I could do that Nami-san if you'd, yohohoho, let me see…." The skeleton fell instantly silent when he saw that Nami was checking her clima-tact whether to strike him or not, he couldn't know, but Brook shut up regardless, valuing his un-life a little higher than his fetishes.

"Relax Nami, Usopp can go with him"

"Sure I… wait , why'd you say that Luffy?!" the sniper started to panic, just as Zoro drapped him over his shoulder and jump off the ship before the Sunny had made it to the dock yet.

A moment later, amidst the panic of the rest of the crew, Nami could see Usopp's afro pop up from the waves, and the undertoad and the bubbles from Zoro's breath strokes.

"He really likes his sake…" she could hear Robin muse behind her, giving the swordsman an amused look as he made for the port, struggling sniper on his back.

"So that leaves Carrot, Chopper, Brook and… you two -" she pointed at Vivi and Rebecca "- To guard the ship"

"But I want to go too Nami!" the bluenette whined, clinging the navigators old clima-tact in her hands.

"Vivi" Nami began, steeling herself from falling for the old puppy-eyes routine "I think it's best if you stay on the Sunny, the less we're divided while we're here, the better…"

"Okay, if you say it like that…" Vivi said in defeat before adding "But You let Zoro-san go…" with a little pout

"You try to stop Zoro when he's needing a drink, it can't be done" Nami shrugged in response

"But Vivi-chan can go with me to the market!" Sanji cut in, trying to help the bluenette "I'm always happy to help any lady in need of recreation" he added with a bow, much to Nami's chagrin

"This isn't a trip for fun! We're here to save our friends! And get the supplies we need…" Nami scolded the chef, making the man bow his head in depression.

"Aw don't be sad Sanji…" Vivi said consolingly "We can cook together when you come back"

The chef almost immediately lit up,

which was perfect,

as the Sunny was almost in position to dock,

allowing the crew to spilt up and get some work done.

* * *

 **(On the beach)**

"Captain, I think you should hear this!" a bulky man in swim trunks blurted out as he came to a halt at a snowflake covered parasol.

"If it's the cannon, I heard it quite well Bering" a female voice cooed from beneath the parasol "Now if you don't mind I'm trying to have a friendly chat with old friend here…. and get a nice tan"

"It's not the cannon captain, our sentries have spotted what looks like the Strawhat crew entering the side harbour, not far from here"

"Now that could be interesting, bring him to me as soon as possible"

"Ay Captain" Bering hurried off, leaving his captain alone with the two others

"What about you two, are you interested in meeting the son of Dragon? Amadob, Hangan?" The woman trailed off, waiting for answers from her companions.

"No." one curtly responded with a derisive scoff

"I'd like to… but first, I have something to see to first…." The other excused himself

"Just me then?" She mused as the two men left her alone "Hmm it'll be a short chat then, Hopefully I won't have to kill him immediately…"

* * *

 **(In the port, a small seedy tavern** )

Sighing heavily at the sight before her, Amande looked for another smoke in her handbag.

Durum was currently trying to fight a table, thinking it was an ignorant homie. Dacquise was giving a long tirade about why it was a good idea for him to marry either Galette or Poire, Amande's dear little sisters, because that'd serve as a: good incentive for the rest of the crew, cement the rule of the Charlotte family, which seemed to have dropped since the loss of both Firetank and Sun pirate crews (the one place the bat-winged, chain-smoking brute actually got a point) and serve as a good reward for him personally, since he'd done a lot for the crew lately (though Amande didn't consider handing Mama marshmallow baked in chocolate a great contribution, though Mama might see things differently, but neither Amande, Randolph, or Diesel had received anything for their work in that department, so Amande wasn't worried about that one). The point about it only fit because they were half breeds and he was pureblooded and it'd fit Big Mom's dream, was beyond laughable and when he mentioned that he deserved to get one of them, Amande had a hard time stopping herself from laughing and slap him across the face.

Instead she puffed her cigarette and signalled the barmaid for another drink, feeling vaguely sorry for her as she tried to avoid Durum thrashing around on the floor with the plank table, arms continually raised to pound the wood into the floor.

"Durum, the table lost when you hit it the first time, stop hitting it and go for a walk!" Seeing the huge idiot obey, Amande leaned back, thinking about Dacquise's words. Not that she'd ever agree that he was worthy of one of her siblings, but the crews' situation was a problematic one. The loss of two strong subordinates, and Amande and Galettes' limited success at getting new one to replace them, neither of the two infamous crews had yet to join them properly and a third remained undecided. Which meant that Mama would be on the lookout for new in-laws.

Despite the number of crews under them (most of whom were because of Mama's frequent marriages, the husbands could be discarded but not their crews/kingdoms), there were still some of her sisters that remained unwed, herself included. Her power had ensured that she hadn't been traded off like a sack of flour, yet, a strong pirate couldn't be taken off the seas to tend to a child and husband, and their crew.

Amande didn't fancy a husband herself, and quite definitely had a type she'd prefer, one that was almost as strong as her was to be preferred, which limited the prospects somewhat. If any more suitors showed up, her sword might start to be whittled down.

"You sure you did right there?" Dacquise's words brought the Snakeneck back to reality "Durum's so dumb he'd probably wander into the marine base thinking it's the toilet"

"Or walk into a wall thinking it's a door, either one would see him not causing that much harm, so stop worrying!" Despite herself, Amande did worry that Durum's stupidity would ruin something for them on the archipelago, after all, Galette and Kato were still out in the town and could run into marines at any moment…..

* * *

( **elsewhere in the port** )

"Okay we just need to…. LUFFY! stop stopping at every stall!"

"What?" the captain responded absentmindedly, not able to take his eyes off a glassblowers wares (a sign outside advertised that they could hold anything (though at Luffy's question about if it could hold a months' worth of meat, the merchant had gone strangely silent)).

"Jinbe-chan means that we're in a hurry, so we can't get distracted by everything that we come across"

"Okay…." Luffy responded, his shoulder sacking, though he deep down knew they were in a hurry.

And as he walked, he did so straight into the back on someone huge.

Nami starred at the man, easily a head taller than and just as wide as Jinbe, a behemoth of muscle, looked down at them with an angry look in his pig-like little eyes. Almost no hair on the bent and angular skull, sharp ears and possibly the biggest pair of buckteeth with a gap in between them that produced a whistling sound when he breathed, Nami almost couldn't believe a man that ugly existed. (part of her also detested his wardrobe: yellow suit with ripped sleeves, allowing his scared musclebound arms to show, the word: _YUM_ on his chest and a pair of suspenders holding up his pants).

"Oi wazzat your doin ya lil'… ya lil'…." The big man began to scratch his chin looking thoughfull for a moment, before loudly proclaiming "SOURCANDY!" at a stunned Luffy and crew. Standing still for a moment as the group sized up the man in front of them, somehow made the brute confused

"Wait a seconnn…. " again he scratched his chin, looking at the group searchingly "Yuzz ar wandedpostas 'ight?"

"Yes…." Robin began, joining the others in giving the man an incredulous look, not quite believing that there were anyone home upstairs.

After a moment, buckteeth spoke again

"Damn! Gotta look elsieswear den…." Nami breathed a sigh of relief as the man made to leave "Oi was sure yozz wur dat Straw'at kreu…. But yuzz just deir wadedpostas…."

The group quickly stepped aside as the brute walked past them, looking down at the ground as he went "Lil-kousin Gallett and kousin Amand's gunna be angri if A break an udda wall…" Stopping up while looking at the ground he briefly looked at ground in front of Nami, who was starting to get a little nervous at the man "naise shoues"

"Thank you…." Nami managed with a shaky wave to the man, before he walked away "Bai bai lil wandedposta…"

As they saw him off Nami turned to the others "What the heck?"

"the seas are full of stupid people huh?" Luffy mumbled "How about we get going?"

"We should, and fast!" Jinbe added, his face a mask of worry

"What's wrong Jinbe?"

"That man mentioned _Galette_ and _Amande_ , both are daughters of Big Mom, both were in the group that assaulted Luffy and Nami-san on Tottoland"

"So Big Mom's crew area here?" Nami gasped

"It could be a coincidence; the seas and the New World is a big place after all" Robin chimed in

"Any way…." Nami began, but an angry roar interrupted her

"OI WAID A MINUTTE! WANDEDPOSTAS AIN'T GOT SHOUES!"

The four quickly dived to the side, away from the main street (actually it was only three that dived, But Jinbe managed to grab Luffy and drag him along).

A moment later the group could hear numerous crashes and shouts of terror as the man juggernauted his way through stalls, wares, various shoppers and merchants that didn't get out of the way fast enough.

"WER YUZ AT?" the man kept yelling through his buckteeth, looking around wildly, trying to locate his prey.

Nami and the group silently tried to wind their way through the droves of panicking people, hoping to avoid a battle that'd alert the marines to their presence.

Settling into a small alley, Jinbe looked around a corner

"No need for that Jinbe, I've got the lookout covered"

"Aaaaah, Robin-sans devilfruit" the fishman nodded with a gracious smile "How does it look?"

"That guy is still looking for us, but it'll take him a while to find us, but I think we might need to run again already…" turning around, the group found themselves face to face with another group of men, normal of size and all dressed in winterwear, with huge beards and determined eyes.

"You wanna go?" Luffy simply asked, cracking his knuckles in anticipation, making Nami cringe, although she prepared her climatact for a, hopefully, swift battle.

"Oh we wanna go all right…" said a large man, his beard marginally wilder than his companions "…To a tavern, and we'd like to take you with us… mr. Strawhat and crew" he smiled and bowed "See our captain'd like a word with you, and ol' Berring hates disappointing 'is captain" His smile continued, but took on a more predatory character (Nami could briefly recognise it from a dozen different merchants she'd dealt with over the years) "You coming, or do you prefer to deal with Big Mom's lackey out there?"

Looking at her companions, Luffy giving her a questioning look in return, Nami couldn't do much but try to advise her captain as best she could "I don't think it'll be a _from the ashes and into the fire_ scenario with these guys"

"Okay, lead the way Bear-ring" the rubberman responded after a moment of thought

"It's Berring Mr. Strawhat sir, and right this way here, if you'd be so kind…"

* * *

 **(In the market square)**

Where there ever a reason to be more happy?

Or, were there ever a man happier than **Him** at the moment?

If Sanji had been told _yes_ , he wouldn't have believed it (Unless it involved him with more women or Nami-schwan forgiving him).

He was currently going through a market that had everything, having a practical bonanza of choices for spoiling the princess- and women-chans (and his crew, but most were only by proxy) and with a beautiful woman at his side no less! Viola-chan, or Violet as he liked to call her (he could see the shiver that went up her spine when he called her that, and he couldn't help but find it endearing) had asked to accompany him, reasoning that she was going a bit stir crazy and were strong enough to handle the trip, which was partially true, much to Sanji's fortune.

She needed to lean on him for support, and often. He practically hadn't left her side the entire trip! Now if only Nami-schama and Robin-chan would ever need him like that he could die happy, and then keep on carrying them to the heavens from whence they had descended on some glorious day in the past (despite repeated attempts he'd never managed to get either to tell him their birthdays, Carrot, in contrast, had told him right away).

"I hope I can give you a good meal before you leave us Violet-chan, fortunately this market has everything!" feeling Viola nod at his side, the chef had a hard time concentrating on the different ingredients that were on sale in the stalls.

But he tried anyway, his crew needed food too.

Fortunately, he'd already paid for some food to be sent to the ship.

"They got caviar from West Blue, Yasa Camel meat from Alabasta (Vivi-chans homeland), White Walkies meat from Drum Kingdom (Chopper's homeland) and lots of vegetables and fruit from all over the world!" he spoke excitedly as he showed Viola all the wares, her smile making him weak in the knees "Why look over there, they even got one of…." Sanji shut his trap immediately and swiftly carried Viola behind one of the stalls.

"What's going on, Sanii, what did you see?"

Holding a finger to his lips, Sanji silenced her questions "We've got to find the others! I just saw one of Big Moms' daughters! We didn't exactly part on good terms last time…." Carrying his companion bridal style, the chef sped off to try and find his crew.

Despite his fears, Viola couldn't help herself but smile "Didn't you look longingly at that _Pudding-girl_?" she teased, her smile deepening when she saw Sanji's blush

"Why wouldn't I? She was beautiful, especially that third eye…."

"Sanii, focus" Viola cautioned, just in time to avoid the pair running into a wall

"Thank you Violet…"

"Don't mention it…. Could you please call me something else in the future"

To her displeasure, Sanji didn't hear the rest of her sentence, his attention on what was ahead of him, and what he didn't want to notice them!

* * *

( **in a tavern** )

"So who're you and what do you want?"

"This is _Whitey Bay_ Nami-san, we spoke of her recently…" Jinbe reminded her, a hand on her shoulder holding her from interrupting the bluehaired woman in front of them, sitting on the other end of the table only dressed in a sarong, a (small) bikini top (leaving nothing to the imagination), both with the same white striped pattern on blue and a Bandanna over her curly bluehair

"Good to see you too Jinbe-sama, it's been so long, have a seat, all of you, please!" it sounded like an invitation, but to Nami it bore all the markings of a barely concealed order. All of which went over her captains' head as Luffy simply sat down, looking directly at his blue haired (and obviously female) colleague.

Said woman didn't waste any time "Glad to meet you, I didn't get to see you much during the battle at Marineford, had my hands full with holding a flank"

"Everyone was a bit tied up during that battle Whitey-san" Jinbe responded as he sat next to Luffy, Nami took up position on his other side, with Robin choosing to stand, keeping a close watch at the crewmembers of the _Icewitch_ "We actually hoped to meet you at some point soon…"

"Not for a fight I hope, after the number you pulled at Dressrosa, I don't think I'd have an easy time with you…" Nami saw the smile, and quickly guessed what the woman was really after…

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but we're in a bit of a rush…." She began, drawing the other woman's attention "… Please, what do you want from us?"

"To meet you, obviously, and hear what you got planned now?" the bluenette responded cheerily.

Before Nami could answer, Luffy opened his mouth, perhaps the most dreadful thing that could happen during a negotiation with another captain "We're helping some friends, after that we're gonna fight Kaido, and then Big Mom, and then…." The look that Whitey sent him ranged from mild amusement to dumbfounded shock. "Are you serious?"

"Why wouldn't I be? I'm gonna help my friends. Then fight Kaido in Wano. I'm going to become Pirate King, I gotta be serious about these things!"

Nami knew he'd blurt out his dream as soon as he got the chance, but she still wanted to slap him for telling about their plans (or perhaps lack thereof) right off the bat.

And to a complete stranger no less.

She reminded herself they wanted to ally with her (possibly, but no sane person would join them after hearing about taking on two Yonko (nevermind that Law had practically joined up for all four, but the _Worst Generation_ were all insane anyway).

"You are, aren't you?"

"Indeed he is Whitey-san, and I believe, some would have said the same about you when you joined in on the attack on Marineford" Both Nami and Whitey looked at Jinbe, one hopeful that he knew what he was doing, the other with a more searching look.

"Indeed…" the bluenette responded "…Say, Strawhat…." She continued, leaning in over the table as if to whisper, though Nami noted that it accentuated two prominent things about her figure more than anything else "How do you intend to accomplish that?"

"First we gotta go to the museum…." Luffy began, before Nami interrupted him "Luffy, _I think_ she means about the Yonko"

"That's for later! We'll fight 'em with all we've got, then we'll see how it goes!"

If Nami hadn't known him, she would've been surprised. _Luffy: dense and happy-go-lucky to the core_

"You're right, that is for later…" Nami conceded, much to Luffys' surprise, before she turned to their host "As our captain said, we have things to do that can't wait, which unfortunately means that we can't stay for long…" she let her words linger, just long enough to allow anyone to formulate an answer, but not to speak it "We need to get going for now, but we're interested in a possible alliance against any of the Yonko in the future…"

"And since Jinbe mentioned you by name… " Robin continued, a half sincere smile playing at her lips "We hope you'll consider discussing it later?"

For a moment, the bluehaired captain seemed like she wanted to argue, but then she smiled "Or…" Whitey said with a flick of her wrist "…you can go to the museum now and I can discuss things with Jinbe-sama here, surely you don't need to be four people to look at old dusty relics?"

Nami and Luffy both Looked at each other and at Jinbe (Robin were looking at Whitey seemingly ticked off at her last comment)

"I'll be fine, I doubt Whitey-san would try and kill me not her style, besides…" he turned to Whitey "any attempts on my life would be avenged almost immediately…"

Holding up either palm the female pirate chuckled "You have my word I won't do anything"

"Okay later" Nami made to follow Luffy, giving Whitey aa final look, noting that the captain also gave her a searching stare, not just Luffy.

Giving a nod to Jinbe as a way of parting, Nami and the others left the tavern.

* * *

( **out on the street** )

Sanji rushed into the throng of people, carrying Viola at his side, one arm draped over his shoulder (and if he hadn't been in a hurry he'd have relished the feel of her pressed against his body).

Got to find them and warn them! got to find them and warn them! That sentence was the only thing that went through his head as he scanned the crowded streets for any sign of his nakama.

 _Look at me! Not being able to find Robin-chan and Nami-schwan in a little town!_

Twisting his head around again as he darted down the street, Viola at his side, who were taking the rush in stride.

 _Even if I can't find them, Jinbe shouldn't be that hard to spot in a crowd! His fat ass should stand out like Luffy in a vegetarian restaurant!_

Finally he spotted something he knew!

A strawhat.

Going straight for the headwear, Sanji was dismayed to find that it was a farmer coming to market.

Just as he was about to turn around a hand tapped him on the shoulder

"Hey sanji, what's up?"

Sanji knew the voice and tried to, while ignoring his fatigue, smile at his captain.

"Luffy, I got bad news!" he huffed, watching the rubberman pale at his words

"There's no meat in the market!"

"No… there's plenty of meat, I just saw one of…" Sanji began, before Robin interrupted him (not to his chagrin)

"If it's about Big Moms' crew, we already know they're here"

"oh…"

"Anyways we've got to be careful!" Nami said with a serious voice "With the ruckus Big Moms' lackey from before caused, the marines are bound to be sending patrols, and we're all either wanted… or missing…" the last bit was directed at Viola, still at Sanji's side.

"Sanji, I think you should take Viola-san back to the Sunny, I think the stress is getting to her…."

While Viola waved off her concern, despite the sweat the ran from her forehead, Sanji was starring aghast at the navigator

"And leave you and Robin-chan un protected! NEVER!"

Nami's response was to simply give him a deadpan stare and gesture to either Luffy, her clima-tact or Robin (though Luffy would've been enough).

"Please, navigator-san, I can handle a little meeting with the marines and a dusty museum and Sanii can be of great help later on, I'm sure of it"

The orangette merely shrugged as Luffy gave them both a thumbs up

"As long as he's ordered the food for the Sunny, I'm okay with anything"

"…As long as we can find a place to hide… I can accept it too"

Sanji beamed at Luffys' and Nami-schwans' words, having a little extra spunk in his step as the quintet ascended up the hill towards the museum.

* * *

( **Inside the tavern** )

Jinbe watched his nakama leave with a bit anxiety. Hopefully they wouldn't run into any problems. But given that he stuck out like a sore thump in most places, him not being there would serve to their advantage.

"A penny for your thoughts _Knight of the sea_ …"

"I was just worrying a bit about my crew Whitey-san, nothing more… I hope that we can get to a mutual understanding about any potential alliance…."

"Possibly…." The woman mused, tapping her chin in mock thought

"I hope that my captains' rushed exit didn't give off a bad first impression, but we really are in a hurry!"

"No worries Jinbe-sama…." Whitey replied with aa lazy smile "He kept eye contact…." She said, spreading her arms to accentuate her skimpy top "I'd be offended if it wasn't so refreshing!" she finished with a genuine smile and a laugh before continuing:

"And he listens to the women on his crew, that could never be a minus by my standards, never ever!" as she finished she took a sip of her drink, calling the barmaid over for a new one and ordering one for Jinbe as well.

Part of Jinbe was suddenly happy that they hadn't brought Brook and Sanji…. or Usopp (the sniper might hide it, but he was a pervert at heart).

"So… lets' talk business" Jinbe folded his hands, looking seriously at his companion

"Yes, an alliance is certainly a good idea, especially with Blackbeard taking over Whitebeards' territories and that Shichibukai Weevil hunting down us Marineford veterans…" she paused her brow furrowing "Oh! And one more thing, I have to warn you about someone" Whitey looked imploringly at him, her eyes filled with a mix of emotions, some which Jinbe knew all too well, fear, disappointment and a bit of anger.

"About whom?"

"The Big Mom crew are pretty active around here, been looking to recruit new subordinates, especially from us Marineford veterans…."

Jinbe knew what that meant "So who's getting hitched? You?"

"Oh heavens NO!" Whitey said with an aghast tone to her voice, bordering on a laugh "Marriage is just another form of chains, besides, they wouldn't allow me to pick my husband…. Or wife if that was my fancy, so why bother?"

Calming down a little, Whitey's voice dropped low, looking at Jinbe as if she were about to reveal state secrets

"But others aren't as resistant…. some are, but aren't exactly friendly with you either…"

Jinbe likewise leaned in so he could better hear her, his face full of worry

"Please, go on…."

As she began to explain all that had been going on behind the scenes, Jinbe took a long sip of his drink, not really paying attention to flavour, almost too focussed on whom and what they might face later on,

And whom!

* * *

( **On the second level of the town, the restaurant: Hannibals** )

Nami pinched the bridge of her nose.

Due to the increased number of Marine patrols, they'd been forced to seek refuge inside a restaurant.

And highend one of that!

She could practically see the beli's it cost just to look at the place.

But to hide, they'd been forced to get a table and menus' just to conceal their faces even more.

Sanji and Luffy loved it however, one for love of food, the other for the variety of dishes the place served, but she'd managed to put her foot down and curb their urges to indulge.

It didn't stop the chef from enthusiastically tell all about the dishes on the menu

"…Vierno Oil soup, started out as a dish for the poor, made out of whatever leftover oils from cooking that could be found, the flavours mingle and…" at this point Robin stopped him, a pair of hands emerging from his cheeks, holding his mouth shut, just as someone entered the restaurant.

Nami gulped as she saw it was a group of marines.

Led by two women, one whom She'd personally met on an earlier adventure.

He bluehaired Ain from the Neo Marines.

The one that had turned her, Brook, Chopper and Robin 12 years younger and if ZOro hadn't dealt with her, they'd remained so.

But now the woman was in the company of the marines, and in chains.

Nami watched the other woman with anxiety.

A highranking one no doubt, judging from the cape and the way the other marines looked to her for commands. Next to Nami, she could hear Sanji (yes hear!) start drooling at the sight of the womans' clothes, hot pants showing her loing legs (including a large spider tattoo) and a tight vest. Nami was more noting of the sword at her side and that she hadn't noted them, yet.

"… 'm not saying you're going to get off scot-free from all charges, but the service you're providing us will be taken into consideration when it comes to your trial" the highranking one told Ain, her features soft and emphatic.

"Are the hits I've taken also going to be considered, vice admiral Gion? Or that mans'…. _advances_ " the last words were spoken with more venom than one of Caesars gas weapons, and Nami cringed at the tone, and she wasn't alone.

"…I assure you, commodore Durkey will be punished for his behaviour, even if you're a prisoner, his actions are unforgiveable, and it will be a factor in the trial, that I promise." The two woemnaa sat down at a table, just close enough for Nami to hear what they were talking about "But for now, I think a good lunch will do you wonders, the soup here is almost as good as the authentic one" the vice admiral ended with a smile, just as a waiter gave them their menues.

"…and the then there's the other patrons…" Gion continued, looking at the other customers. Nami breathed a sigh of relief as the marine ignored their table and pointed at on in the opposite end of the room.

"That one for example, is a new one, but has come in every day for a week! And I can't help but think the little guy is adorable!"

Nami wasn't forced to agree.

The tables' sole occupant, sitting on a pile of cushions on a chair, a large steak and glass of sparkly water next to it, was a small pug with a squished-in face.

It did strike her as odd that it managed to use a knife and fork (which were practically taller than it self) to eat. That someone had taken their time to teach their pet that sort of thing bespoke off either extreme boredom or maddened ability. That, assumingly, the same person had dressed it in a tailored pinstriped tuxedo was lees of a surprise to her though, some people had all too crazy tastes.

Suddenly the entrance to the restaurant slammed open and another marine stormed in.

Another woman, Nami noted (Sanji too), with a pistol and machette in the belt.

"Rear Admiral Malta, what's the hurry?"

"Vice admiral, there's been sightings on the lower levels, Some of Big Mom's crew are on Runny Rum, and so is the Strawhat crew!"

"Garp-samas' grandson… No time to waste!" the vice admiral immediately stood up "You too Ain-san one more thinkg you can help with!"

As the group exited Hannibals', much to the staffs' disappointment (one was wailing that he didn't get to cook for Gion-chan-sama), Nami dropped her menu and urged the others too follow her as soon as possible.

"ok, now they know we're here, so we've got to hurry even more!" rising from the table, Nami noted something horrible

"Where's Luffy?"

Sanning the room, Nami quickly found him, the rubberman had the stealth of a drunk rhino in a porcelain shop.

Naturally, he was trying to steal the pugs' steak.

The pug in question was trying to stop him with it's cutlery.

Even from behind him, Nami could hear the dog playing an elaborate version of the knife between fingers game, preventing Luffy from eating it's food.

"Luffy, Sanji'll cook for you when we get to the Sunny, leave the poor dog to its' food…"

"It's just a snack! And it's bigger than it anyway! Plenty for two…"

"Luffy, people are starting to stare at us, lets…" Nami stopped talking as the pug dug out a pistol from underneath the table, pointing it at Luffys' head with a grin, before it made a small bark.

And another

And then one more.

Then it looked at the gun in confusion, before giving it a little shake.

Nami's eyebrow quivered a little, just as one of Robins' hands emerged from the table, taking the pistol away from the dog, while simultaneously scratching it behind the ear, pacifying it for the time being.

"Let's get going, shall we?" the ravenhaired woman said, while Luffy gorged himself on the steak and Sanji, still supporting Viola, snatched up the dogs' menu, looking at it in shocked awe.

"Yes definitely!" Nami conceded, dragging the two men with her to the entrance (her captain struggling because he wanted more food, the chef keeping babbling about how exquisite the food that the dog (apparently named _Bertram_ ) had ordered were, and that he wanted to meet the gourmet in person) ignoring the complaints of both men.

 _Museum of piracy, here we come!_

* * *

( **Outside Hannibals)**

She couldn't believe her eyes!

Right before her, a group of the Strawhats had just snuck out of Hannibals', just as she was about to enter it for some lunch.

She quickly grabbed a den den mushi, a plan forming in her mind.

"Amande, Galette here…" she whispered hurriedly "I'm at Hannibals' and I've just seen Strawhat leave it, with one of the missing princesses! Get our guys at sea to be ready to blast their ship and get here as fast as you can! I'm going to see what they're up to…"

She didn't bother to hear the response, ending the call and rushing her pumpkinheaded companion towards cover, hoping to remain unseen.

 _If this goes according to plan, I can verify Puddings' intel too!_ thought Galette, as she watched the group of pirates go in the direction of the museum.

* * *

 **(on the seas)**

"VI can see the them! VI'm very excited about this!"

Ivankov smiled as he looked through the spyglass, the _vessels_ ahead of him taking up much of the horizon.

"Ready for me my little king-boiys nfufufufu?" he laughed

"TO BAD! HERE I COME! FULL SPEED AHEAD!" he howled at the whale dragging his own ship before plunging his hormone needles into its' tail making the gargantuan animal speed up.

"I can't wait to meet Sanji-boys' family! This is going to be hilarious!" the large headed man snickered, remembering the chefs' delightful response to his okama brethren's advances very clearly.

"I thought Dragon-sama sent us to negotiate with them about our upcoming war with the Tenryubito?"

"Doesn't mean I can't have fun Inazuma!" the king of Kamabaka kingdom and revolutionary responded flatly, waving his seconds' comments aside.

"Beside this'll be an impromptu miniature reverie, we'll all be kings having a chat! Heehaw!" he laughed as the Germa kingdom came closer and closer…

* * *

 **(In the museum on Runny Rum)**

Nami smiled as Robin left their little group, off to fetch a certain someone.

 _I can't wait to see his face when I tell him!_ She thought with a squee, looking at the back of her captain as he looked up at the sign, showing what wing it was they were about to enter:

 _ **The battle of Marineford, a great victory for justice and the World Government**_

Nami had sent Sanji off to get Viola a chair so she could rest a little, leaving Luffy alone to grasp what he was about to see.

The first thing he saw was a fullsized banner, displaying Whitebeard and Ace and what Nami could only assume was the rest of their crew. Since it was a marine depiction, it showed them in all sorts of dynamic poses, looking threatening and grim, not like Nami supposed they were if you met them in the flesh.

As soon that he'd laid his eyes on it, Luffy had grown silent, with one of his hands, tentatively reaching out towards the depiction of his brother, _Flaming Fist Ace_ , true to his name one of his hands were aflame, and as a nod to his heritage, a small crown had been added to his hat, making him look gaudy and fake.

It had been a while since Ace had died at Marineford, but as Nami knew, when you'd see someone you loved right in front of your eyes, dying for you, then you could never forget it, the feeling of the whole world being wrong.

But it wasn't the time for that, regardless of what Luffy might feel at seeing a depiction of his brother again, they had something they had to do. But Nami dearly wanted him to have this moment, he'd have done the same for her after all, all the crew would.

 _With all that's been happening today, I hope we can make it on time…_

"Luffy…" Nami began, sorry to break the spell he was under "…I know you'd rather stay and look at Ace, remember him… but we have to get going… but we can also return here, and soon…" Looking at Luffy she could see his shoulders sack, not from sulking, but because he knew that she was right, and he had other duties to attend to.

"Ok, lets go…" Nami gave him a small pat on the shoulder as the pair walked out of the pirates' wing.

In the hallway Sanji and viola joined them, and together the quartet walked towards the entrance to the smugglers' wing, where Upon entry, it was Nami's turn to stand stock still, jaw nearly hitting the floor eyes like saucers,

Starring balefully,

at the humongous, metalskinned figure that were there,

brandishing a red cutlass,

face marred by a maddened grin,

waiting for them….

* * *

 **End of chapter 15**

Well, I did say it was going to be a while before I updated, but here it is (I also said it'd be a short chapter, but I can never keep that promise anyway).

I finally get to Runny Rum archipelago, where so many of the threads of this story will be tied together and peoples' secrets come back to haunt them!

I promise that the next few chapters willl be action packed! Which is why this chapter has been pretty slow and have included a lot of buildup.

There's been some canon reveals about the Charlotte family since I started this fic. Dacquise and Kato are apparently also Big Mom's children, which contradicts what I've called them and used them for in my story. While I'm normally in favour of staying as true to the canon as possible, I'm going to continue using them as I've done so far: Kato's an obedient homie, while Dacquise is a creepy and perverted stalker with delusions of power.

 **Threads:**

 **Strawhat pirates:** arrived on Runny Rum archipelago, met some other pirates and made for the museum.

 **Marines:** really don't know what's going on, but has been attacked and are out in force.

 **Princess hunters:** one has arrived on the archipelago, and he isn't going to bow down to anyone!

 **Big Mom Pirates:** are present on the main island.

 **Revolutionaries** : Ivankov is coming (hide every semi-attractive man!).

RnR if you'd be so kind


	16. Chapter 16: Enter Coyle - exit Runny Rum

**Blood ties like Iron chains chapter 16**

 **Enter Coyle - Exit Runny Rum**

 **updated 17-10-2018**

* * *

 **(In the museum)**

Nami couldn't believe what she was seeing,

Perhaps it was the most gaudy and ostentatious thing in the entire museum, and possibly what she'd ever seen.

A, at least two and a half metre tall, solid gold statue, bedecked with all manner of precious stones and even gold and silver inlaid silks in a dozen different striking colours, depicting the late smuggler _Coyle the Fruit Merchant,_ dressed like aking (complete with a small ruby encrusted crown), standing with a raised cutlass (studded with rubies of different sizes, no doubt signifying blood) as if he was going to charge at someone, mouth open in a mad grin, tongue lopping out like a dog.

The first impression of the thing, the bad taste, almost overrode her usual instinct of trying to figure out how much it was worth, and how to steal it.

Fortunately, Luffy and Sanji, if he let go of Viola, could carry it on their way out. If not, Nami was sure her greed would give the necessary strength to haul it herself, or at least the gemstones (those that had been used for his eyes certainly wouldn't be missed, nice big black pearls!).

"We're not leaving without that thing!" she said with a determined tone, not surprising her comrades in the least.

"So that's that Coyle guy huh?" Luffy said as he scratched the back of his head, looking at the statue like a huge sign, oblivious to Nami eyeing the thing for completely different reasons "But who's that other guy?"

Nami reluctantly turned her head away from the _huge_ pile of money on display and looked next to it.

A more modest statue stood facing Coyle's, one with stern features, a noble face and the tell-tale uniform marked the man out as vice admiral. Contrary to Coyle's stance, ready to pounce, a bit like Luffy on an adventure (or at an all-you-can-eat-buffet), this one stood dignified and static. That it was made of stone only served to emphasise the contrast to the other statue.

" _Vice admiral Hoodie, defender of the seas, Bane of Coyle_ , died vanquishing this great evil of the Grand Line, promoted post-mortem in recognition to his deeds…" Sanji read out loud, still shouldering Viola at his side (to the evident joy of both people) "Remembered fondly for his love of the marines and nicknames"

"Kinda, looks a bit out of place that last bit…" he mused "But that's not what we're here for, let's go over that journal this lucky bastard…" he turned to the golden statue with a frown "…left behind!"

Nami shook her head, it wasn't hard to figure out what Sanji was jealous of, anyone that could make one, let alone two kuja fall for them and then have two beautiful daughters from that union, was bound to be envied extensively and the perverts of the crew would be the first in that long line.

Looking at the statue again, Nami put her avarice on hold (it took an immense amount of willpower though) and went to look at one of the glass cabinets, some holding old pieces of loot (like a full suit of captains clothing, weaponry or knick knacks that Nami could only guess the use for) but most containing several pages in different states, some were wrinkled or burnt, while others had the ink spoiled and spilled all over the paper. The plaques that stood next to them, both explained and criticised the journal (and in particular the writer).

 **The cruelty of Coyle: bombing an orphanage in Vierno, home of our beloved Vice admiral Gion, to get the attention of the City's defenders, demanding them to hand over their devil fruits.**

Others went further

 **Madness of Coyle: claimed that there existed Sky Islands! The depiction to the left is claimed to be from one called Cielo, a moving Sky Island!** Nami gave that one a long stare. She knew Sky islands were real, and the drawing only proved that, depicting several birds only found there and a piece of architecture, notes on the side spoke of _Baloon Terminal_ and _Skypiea_ , the latter a place Nami had visited personally. Next to it stood a cracked dial, nailing it home that the smuggler wasn't entirely insane.

Giving the page itself a look, Nami could see several lines that sounded almost pleading: **the Radiant One must be pleased with this!** Or **: Must obey the Radiant One's wishes!** And a third one: **This will surely be a decent offering to the Radiant one!** _Must have been his god or something…_ Nami thought before she moved on to another cabinet.

 **Map of the Knock Up streams of the Grand Line, this foul villain allegedly had it in his hands for years, but this remains unproven!**

That one Nami wouldn't have minded getting her hands on (any navigator worth their salt would want to know where a Knock Up Stream would occur, especially in the New World). Other maps the man had had in his possession, were the following: **map of Cielo's course** , **map of the Redlines fracture lines, map of the undersea black water currents** , **map of the coast of Wano with all its most treasonous reefs** … Nami looked at the last one again.

 _We can use that!_ she thought reading the little note at the side: **was taken into the custody of Vice admiral Hoodies' family.**

 _So I've gotta find them and steal it! It'll work wonders for us against Kaido!_

"Oooooh Look at this!"

Turning to Luffy Nami could see him drooling over a page, very well preserved, the plaque reading: _Favorite dishes of Coyle, Island Whale cheese, aged…_ more Nami didn't bother to read, wanting to hit her captain over the head for thinking with his gut, though she'd admit that she hadn't been much better, when she'd seen the statue.

"See here, it talks about _Amazon Lily_!" Sanji stood in front of another cabinet, Viola resting on a chair beside it "… _came across the Kuja Tribe, aside from their Haki knowledge, they are not much worth as a whole, the Devil Fruit they had not being worth the trip either"_ the chef read out loud, giving the paper a stern glare _"…. Have to ask the Radiant one for forgiveness for my sins there…."_ Sanji stood stock still for a moment processing what he'd just read "He didn't mention the Kuja-chans at all! What the hell?" leaving the chef to fume Nami went for another cabinet, one with pages that had been completely restored.

It was a list of devil fruits, some of which Coyle had smuggled and traded off at one point of another.

Now Nami could understand a shipping list, but the sheer notes and how intricate they were about the fruits were mindblowing. Descriptions of appearance, type and abilities, Zoan, Paramecia and even several Logia fruits, filled page after page. If knowledge was money, Nami could steal this and live a life a Tenryubito would be envious of for 400 years! (10 if she also paid for her crews' shenanigans).

What confused her about it was that Coyle had labelled them differently from what would normally be the case. Some Logia were marked off with an **N** , a **D** , an **M** or an **E** , without further explanation…

"I think it stands for not eaten _yet, dinner_ and _munched_!"

Having Luffy creep up next to her and run his mouth off at random wasn't new to her, but when she was trying to study it was unnerving "Could you be quiet? This is really interesting!"

"Uh huh, hey here's my fruit!" The captain happily exclaimed, pointing at line on a page. It simply read: **Paramecia, turns the eater into a rubber-man,** **only useful if trained for several years, though considering the insulating properties of rubber against electricity, would counter the Goro Goro no Mi, which makes that Logia worthless against one person on the seas, the Goro Goro no Mi (labelled N/"E") is therefore not a worthwhile offering to the Radiant One and will be sold off later.**

Nami stared at the lines for several moments.

 _That freaking guy predicted Luffy beating Enel over 20 years ago! And he considered the Goro Goro no MI worthless because of that? and he freaking had it!_

"I'm starting to see how some might think Coyle was crazy now…." She said with a twitchy eyebrow.

Another line stuck out, a large plaque showing a picture of the resident Vice admiral, smiling and waving (and Sanji naturally drooling at it, his face put straight up against the glass), the page next to it reading: _**Hasu-Hasu no MI**_ **(lotus-lotus fruit), Logia, labelled M** , after which followed a short list of abilities (turning into beautiful lotus petals, which didn't seem like much of an ability as far as Nami had seen from other Logia fruits), ending with a: **would not please the Radiant One as an offering, must continue my search**.

The plaque spoke of how it was the fruit of the archipelagos' dear and beautiful vice admiral. It also noted how odd it was to be labelled " **M** ", which was a privilege few of the fruits listed in the notes shared. One of the others were a fabled **Ijou-Ijou no Mi** (disorder-disorder fruit ( _authors note: basically it's the_ _Chaos-Chaos fruit_ )) a logia that enabled the user to bend matter of all sorts and manipulate the very fabric of the world! Nami'd never heard of that one, but it sounded impossible.

"Keep looking, there's got to be something about his family somewhere!" Nami said tearing her eyes away from the plaque.

Ignoring Luffy as he gushed over another fruit entry, the Niku-niku no mi (meat meat fruit) and it's ability to turn anything into edible meat, The group pressed on.

"I think I've found something…" Viola added, having found a new chair at the wall. Rushing to see what it was, Nami briefly had to wrestle with Luffy to be able to read what the plaque and page said: the plaque: **only mention of Coyles' family, his wickedness extending to his own siblings!**

The pages was even more blunt than the smugglers' other notes: …. **my brothers are too stupid, incompetent, loud and far too coarse to be allowed to stand in the Radiant Ones presence, my sister might be worthy, but her abilities would prove fatal and would warrant her to be removed if need be….**

"It doesn't say anymore does it?" Luffy piped in, and Nami swallowed hard seeing most of their hopes running down the drain, with Viola voicing her concerns "So what do we do now?"

"We-we'll return to the ship, Chopper'll find a cure, no doubt! Those poor kuja-chans…" Sanji half sobbed, with Viola adding "All that work getting here for nothing…"

"We're going to find a way to save them!" Luffy said with a serious tone and arms crossed "We'll return to Sunny and then we'll start searching, there can't be that many gold skinned people on the seas!"

"Two things Luffy…" Nami said, struggling between keeping a straight face and the urge to smack him over the head "One, I don't think Coyle had gold skin, it's just a statue, and two: we still got an ace up our sleeve"

The stream of questions that followed could be summarized with a humongous _why?_

Putting out her chest and straightening up, Nami smiled confidently "This is part of the surprise I mentioned earlier Luffy"

"It is? Great! I can't wait to see it!"

Scoffing at the two, Viola shook her head "I don't see how we have time for this!" before Nami could stop her, the Dressrosan princess had seen into the navigators head and found the answer, turning to Sanji with a smile "The museum director has a devil-fruit that allows him to call back echoes of people, we can use that to call Coyle and make him tell us what we're after!"

Nami folded her arms across her chest and gave Viola an angry glare "I really hope that one ady someone messes with your head like that! revealing something you don't others to know!"

While Viola took a step back, ginvgin Nami a frightened and suspicious look, Sanji merely hugged her tighter.

"Nami-chama, please don't be angry at Violet, she's only doing it to help!" Sanji tried, putting himself between the two women, part of him fantasizing about it, the rest hoping that Nami wouldn't strike him "What's wrong with that?"

Nami stared angrily at Viola, not even noting Sanji's plea, it took Luffy's hand on her shoulder to make her calm down "What's wrong is that she just looks into my head without asking! Just going into someone's mind is extremely intrusive! And it's not even the first time either and you know it!"

"You wanting to preserve the surprise wasn't helping us at all!" Viola responded with a scoff

"But having him turn up and reveal it himself would've been way cooler!" Luffy whined, his disappointment all too clear "Nami's done nothing wrong."

"Except waiting to tell us to save money on that service"

"We don't have that much cash and it costs 100.000 beli each time someone's echo is called"

"Won't the guy just help us when he hears what we want?"

"I'm not sure he'll be that humanitarian Luffy"

"Nami-schama can surely haggle the price down right?"

"I hope so, with things like that around…" nodding towards the statue "… I don't think they're in need of money"

Nami felt the urge to drop the meaningless argument in favour of prying gemstones off the statue, but pushed it aside, trying to focus on the matter at hand.

"So where do we find that guy?"

"Why do you think Robin left us as soon as we entered the museum?"

"I thought she had to poop or was hungry or… something" the captain merely responded with a shrug, much to Nami's consternation.

"Well, we'll just have to wait until Robin gets here with the guy"

Waiting for the archaeologist meant that they had extra time to go over some of Coyles' notes, though Nami could have been without listening to Sanji's wailing at discovering those concerning Kamabaka Kingdom especially the part about: **fun place, great food, friendly locals. The rest of the cartel didn't seem to like it though… especially about that guy who kept calling everyone -boy. My punishment for my sins by the Radiant One. Brought a chef back with me to cook too and left the old one behind, but the new one died in a mysterious stabbing incident, or at least that's what the cartel wanted me to believe.**

 **We starved a lot afterwards.**

Nami merely shook her head and continue to read some more, hoping that Robin would hurry and fetch the guy they needed.

And that she could negotiate the prize to something manageable.

* * *

 **(On the seas)**

"What do you want rebel?" Judge called out from the deck of his _flag-ship_ (his main seagoing-snail), looking angrily at the other vessel, normal, but pulled by a large whale, meaning that it could keep up with the germa's vessel and avoid any projectiles if necessary (which had been the initial greeting).

"Why VI'm here to talk to you, my dear king-colleague-boys!" Ivankov responded with a smile and an exuberant pose.

"Dragon-san have a lot to talk to you about Nfufufufu!" the large headed man snickered, much to the assembled kings' anger and worry

"don't test my patience villain" Judge called out, anger boiling in his gut "You're not royalty merely by putting on a crown!"

"But VI'm queen of Kamabaka kingdom! And VI'm representing the leader of the revolution: Monkey D. Dragon! I brought a Den den mushi so he could talk to you in person! heehaw"

His announcement lost some of its' bluster however,

When Ivankov realised he'd misplaced his den den mushi…

* * *

 **(in the museum)**

"Nami"

At the sound of her name, the navigator turned away from the cabinet page she'd been reading titled: **the different variations of Haki: as there is different people, so is there different ways to use the the haki types available. A single style can be moulded a hundred ways if the user is willingly to train and make it part of who they a…**

The page hadn't been restored yet, so most of it had been unreadable, but still provided some recreation while they waited.

But now she was eyeing Luffy, who was starring absentmindedly at some old gun on display, allegedly used by Coyle to dispatch any smuggling rivals.

"What is it Luffy?"

"Why was the echo guy the surprise?"

Nami bit her lip at this, she knew he'd question it at some point.

"Well… I figured… with the museum here, and that whole thing with Ace… I thought that it'd be good for you, for everyone that have lost someone, it'd be good to talk to them again… see their face…"

"Thanks…" he managed after a while, wiping his face with the back of his hand, removing any tears that might be present on his boyish face "Don't you want to use it for your mom too?"

Nami looked down and smiled bittersweetly _that would be really nice…. But she wouldn't like to see me as a pirate…_ "that would be wonderful…" Nami managed, just as Robin emerged from the entrance, a struggling man in tow.

Nami eyed him curiously, noting his looks: short and portly, dressed in a blue suit (complete with a strangling butterfly) and a stack of Newspapers under his arm.

He didn't look happy in the least (being dragged off out of the blue could do that to anyones moods)

"What is it? _Pirate_?!" from his voice I felt like he had somehow been addressed by a pile manure, not that they weren't used to it, but still.

"Enough of that!" Sanji cut in, dragging the protesting man towards the golden statue, pointing at it "we need you too call this guy back! We've got questions for him!"

"Alto of people got questions for him… no doubt people as vile as him, you pirate beast!" the man sneered at Sanji, before eyeing Luffy and Nami "The _Strawhat crew_ , vile spawn of Dragon and ruffians most tumultuous! And look at the way their women dresses!"

"There's nothing wrong with the way they dress! They're so beautiful they don't need clo…" Sanji ranted at the man, before Nami stopped him with a hand "Please, it's important that we talk to _the fruit merchant,_ it's a matter of life and death!"

But the man stubbornly held his ground "I would never aid a pirate! You are by far the worst sort of Villany in the…. HEEEYYYOOOOO!" the man shouted out as his eyes fell upon Viola in her chair. Nami followed his gaze, noting that he, despite his Sanji-esque voice, wasn't giving Viola elevator eyes, focussing solely on her face.

 _Two things: this might mean I don't need to spend a Beli, and he's not a pervert, atleast…_ Nmi thought, as the diminutive director kept on rambling

"Why you vile people were the ones that abducted the dear beautiful Princess! Viola-chan-sama, I, Museum director Hercule Valorius Falco, am at your service!"

* * *

 **(In the tavern)**

"That is indeed very useful information, thank you Whitey-san" Jinbe said, his mind a whirlpool of emotions,

 _so many…_

"Don't sweat it Jinbe-sama…" Whitey responded with a shrug "But know this, if they attack you, I might not come to your aid…."

"Because they were your comrades once, under Whitebeard… I understand the dilemma" Jinbe could only picture Arlong in front of him at the moment "When your own fail your expectations, just to pursue their own selfish agendas…"

"Glad we can agree on that" The bluenette raised her glass in a bittersweet toast "but, about that alliance…"

* * *

 **(in the museum)**

"I have read all of the articles about you Viola-chan-sama, and of all those horrors you must have gone through under that vile Doflamingo!" the museum director blurted out, tears running freely from his eyes, yet Sanji couldn't determine whether it was from empathy or because he was in the presence of his _idol_.

The man simply kept blurting out nonsense about how sorry he was that she was now a prisoner of the horrible Strawhat crew (Sanji had a faint notion of striking him, but that wouldn't help them in the least) and that he had all the newspaper articles (which he promptly laid out before her on the floor) little red circles around her picture and the accompanying articles (Sanji noted that the director indeed had all the articles, he also noted that he had to take the pictures of her for himself later), that her radiance could overshadow that of the archipelago's very own vice admiral Gion-chan-sama (Though Sanji wasn't one to dispute it, he couldn't really agree either, both women were exceptionally beautiful to him) and finally, that he was so soooo sorry to hear about her illness (not knowing it was terminal if not treated right) and then naturally blaming the Strawhats (which the little Hercule Valorious Falco wasn't entirely wrong).

"That's all very good director…" Viola managed through the stream of words, compliments to her elegance and curses towards Doflamingo, finally managing to make the blushing director fall silent "…But I was hoping you could help us with contacting the Fruit Merchant"

The director simply stared at her, his mouth trembling "But WHY, would you, or dear and sweet princess, want to contact that vicious brute? Every time Gion-chan-sama have tried we have failed to get a single word out of him…"

"He might know something they'll need" Viola gestured to the pirates "And I think they can get him to talk quite easily"

Looking at the Strawhats the director shrugged "Criminals talk the same tongue I suppose, I'll call his echo up immediately…." Before he hurriedly added, with a smile that rivalled Sanji's at the thought of any beautiful woman "for you, oh princess, Free of charge of course!"

Leaning back, Sanji smiled as he saw Nami's very relieved face.

 _See Nami-schwan, Violet can be very helpful:D_

* * *

 **(In the port)**

"Are you certain, you saw them walk around here?"

"Sure as rain captain, _The Pirate Hunter_ , Roronoa Zoro, of the Strawhats and the _Worst Generation_ , is in that tavern, and we think the one called _God_ is with him too"

"… Why is he called _God_?"

"Well, we think it has something to do with him rambling like a madman about some swim the other took…"

"…That doesn't make any sense you idiot"

"Sorry captain"

"Anyway…" the captain sighed, before his voice turned hard as steel "Signal Brownie, I want him to be ready, and then make ready to attack, the more we cripple the Strawhats now, the less trouble they'll when we assault their ship later!"

* * *

 **(In the museum)**

Nami watched in fascination ass the director stretched out his arms and did a number of movements in the air, his hands forming a dozen strange symbols and gestures, while he mumbled away

"Could you please Hurry up? We're on a tight schedule" Viola called out behind him, a hand raised to her face, indicating she had used her devilfruit ability.

"But…. This is an important part of the theatrics, the showmanship…" the director pleaded, hoping he could continue, but at last he conceded "Very well…" then he shouted "Eko Eko: PHANTASM!"

A whirl of mists picked up, and a hundred sounds ffilled the room, words, pieces of conversation, squawking of birds and the sound of the seas, the clink of coins and a hundred other noises. Nami watched it with fascination, the rest of their party too.

All the sounds whirled together, before they became visible, a mass of colours that sped around like a dozen interlocking rainbows and took physical form, and from the thin air emerged a male figure….

and Nami was instantly disappointed.

 _Coyle the Fruit Merchant_ looked like any other person. Dark haired and plain faced, his only distinguishing feature was his lack of (or at least very thin) eyebrows. His clothing consisted of a simple Hawaii shirt and baggy brown pants and black shoes, topped off by a red bandanna tied loosely around his head, a few strands of medium length black hair falling over his face. He look like a tourist after a night in town.

After seeing his statue, Nami had expected some sort of rich (extremely rich!) pirate harlequin, like Doflamingo or Mr. 2, only gaudier and somewhat belligerent.

But before her stood a man that could walk into any marine base with his wanted poster on a sign next to him, and still not be recognised.

"Here he is…" the director announced, a drip of disgust in his voice " _Coyle the Fruit Merchant_."

The man simply looked at the group before him with dark and attentive eyes, yet never looking at any one for too long.

"ahem.." Sanji began "Mister Coyle, we're here to…"

The smuggler openly ignored him, looking around the room with all his notes and some of his wares with only a vague sliver of interest.

Then the phantasm simply clapped his hands together and closed his eyes.

"Uhh" Sanji paused, not sure of what to do

"Don't bother" the director said with a tired voice "He always does that, ignores everything, only prays, and then…" he paused, pointing at Coyle, whom suddenly cracked a small content smile, folded his arms across his chest and looked like nothing that could be said would ever affect him in the least. "As if any god would ever forgive his criminal activities… or listen to his pleas!"

"Well, he's going to listen to us…" Nami said with a stern voice and her hands in her sides "Because we have his daughters!"

To Nami's satisfaction, the phantasm immediately looked at her, the look in his eyes displaying fear and confusion, but also his complete and utter attention.

"Glad to see you're listening" Nami smiled sincerely "I'll make it shor…"

"This beast have offspring!" the director cut her off, his face a mask of fear, pointing a trembling finger at Coyles' echo.

"YES! Two of the most adorable beautiful women on the seas!" Sanji piped in with happiness plastered all over his face, before turning to the echo "Please tell me how you met their mothers?"

While Coyle looked at Sanji with a face that radiated puzzled disgust, Nami raised her voice "That's not what we're here for Sanji!" then she turned to the smuggler

"Coyle-san, I'm sorry to tell you, but your daughters are very ill…" she pleaded with the smuggler, who still stood unresponsive to their words "The only way to save them is if the get a blood transfusion from close rela…"

"Shut it."

The words caught her by surprise, and the rest of the room as well.

Coyle could suddenly speak, his voice blunt and strangely harsh despite its youthfulness and odd highpitch. Nami eyed him suspiciously.

"Uhhh"

Coyle merely scoffed "You want me to rat on my family, but I'm not selling them out for two people I've never met" raising his head at the group he continued "I applaud your little detective work, figuring out I had kids. But that's not something you can just say and expect me to comply out of the blue!"

Nami blinked, she hadn't expected this.

"But they're your daughters!" Sanji yelled at the phantasm, his anger plain to see, but Coyle didn't care in the least "You can't prove they're mine, and why should I care for some strangers?"

Sanji looked like he was about to snap, but a hand from Luffy stopped him, by slamming into Coyles' face like a hammer!

"That won't work" the director simply said "Attacks just pass straight through my echoes" and as soon as Luffy's hand whipped back, Coyles' face reverted to its normal shape as if it was mist he'd struck, now with a confident smirk "Not much you can do to convince me otherwise bud, Guhahahaha!"

As Luffy fumed, the echo kept laughing

"Old lady Nyon said they were yours! She told us!"

"I have no idea who that is"

"She's this really old Kuja" Luffy held out a hand to show her height "always ends her sentences with a -nyon…"

"I don't care about her either" again one of Luffy's fist flew out, slamming into Coyles face, sending him backwards.

"Wha?!" the director shouted out, confused at what was happening. When Luffy's hand returned, Nami noted that it was black with haki.

"So Haki can touch you, we can beat it out of you!" he said with a smile "We win, you tell us everything"

Coyle stood back up and wiped his bruised face, starring at Luffy with cold fury in his eyes

"And I don't' think it'll take that long!" Sanji gloated making ready to join his captain in combat.

Then the smuggler flashed a smile at both pirates while he pointed at them with his right hand.

A heartbeat later, Nami watched in shock as Sanji and Luffy barely avoided the thin rays of darkness that exploded from Coyles' fingertips, ramming into the opposing walls, shattering the bricks.

"It'll take as long as I want it to." The smuggler responded smugly, as he made ready to fire again

"Trust that."

* * *

 **(in a tavern)**

Usopp hid under a table.

 _Why is this always happening to me?_

As another barstool (and occupant) slammed into a wall, the sniper dared to peek up.

Zoro was in his zone, slashing left and right at the onrushing attackers. Usopp didn't know why they had ambushed them, but the group had made a lethal mistake of missing Zoro with their first shot, the bullet passing an inch short of his head and instead shattering the bottle in his hand.

Granted Zoro had already emptied 5 bottles but interrupting his sixth (by shooting it no less) was something even Sanji wouldn't do.

Grasping his slingshot Usopp aimed at a huge man with….what looked like a small lion on his shoulders

 _I sure hope this works!_ He thought frantically as he unleashed his projectile.

"Eat this!"

* * *

 **(in the museum)**

"What the?!" Nami stuttered, her ind racing to comprehend what she had just seen

"It's Coyles' ability!" the director howled "it's his special…"

"He's using armament Haki to shoot at us!" Nami yelled out, ducking under a black ray of death.

"Smart girl aren't you?" Coyle grinned and fired again, missing Nami by mere milometers

"And beautiful!" Sanji piped in, as he too avoided a dark bolt

"hmpf, not on my list of beauties, but I ain't judging" the smuggler shrugged, infuriating Sanji to no end "Why you?"

"This won't solve anything!" Nami yelled "Coyle-san! We need to know where your family is if we're to save your daughters!"

"And why the heck would you want to do that?"

"Rindo and Marguerite are our friends!" Luffy raged as one of his fists flashed towards Coyles body. He managed to twist just in time for the punch to graze his chest, much to the smugglers' anger.

A moment later, Nami felt a searing pain in her head, crying out in pain she was forced to her knees, making both Luffy and Sanji look back at her in fear

"NAMI-CHAMA!"

"NAMI!"

A moment later, a black bolt was close to hitting both captain and chef square in the chest.

"What are you doing to her?" Sanji raged, blocking a haki blast and sending it thought the roof.

"Just a little Conquerors haki, won't kill her… but this will!" Coyle said with a smile, pointing a black finger menacingly at the navigator.

Both Luffy and Sanji immediately ran to Nami to shield her, only to discover it was a ruse, Coyle instead sent a haki shot straight for the director.

Fortunately for him Robin grasped him and pulled the man to the side, narrowly avoiding the dark ray as it hit and effortlessly shattered the floor.

 _A prolonged battle wouldn't have solved anything, and Coyle knows that, he's trying to take out the one person that can call his echo back!_ Nami concluded with a sneer, the burning sensation in her head receding as Coyle lost focus.

"Oh enough of this!" Viola said in a tired and angry voice "You won't tell! You don't have to!" Nami knew instantly what she was about to do, and right as rain, the dressrosan princess activated her abilities and looked directly into Coyle's mind, baring his very soul and all its secrets.

The smuggler looked at her in slight confusion, and the others in the room followed suit after witnessing Viola gasp, grow pale and tears starting to form in her eyes

"T-tha-that's _the Radiant One_?!" she finally managed through small sobs, with a pair of twin waterfalls starting to stream down her cheeks "That's what drives you?!"

* * *

 **(In the market square)**

As he walked down the street, Jinbe mulled over what Whitey had told him.

 _To think, that my own brothers in arms would abandon old ties to save their own hides… I thought they had more honour than this! But why?_

The massive fishmans' confusion was temporarily postponed as he heard a loud crash to his right.

Turning his head, Jinbe only just managed to see a part of a building collapse, specifically, it slid off a cut that had been made across one side.

 _Zoro…_

Groaning, Jinbe ran towards the building, hoping that he wasn't right, and the swordsman was in some other tavern.

A loud howl told him otherwise:

"Why won't you go down? I've got 10.000 men outside to back me up!"

"Cool! Bring 'em!" someone shouted back enthusiastically.

Despite not having been with the crew for long, Jinbe had already become used to Usopps' shrill screams, outlandish lies and whimpering protests, so redoubling his efforts, the fishman sped towards the partially destroyed building.

* * *

 **(in the museum)**

"Violet?" Sanji gasped as the princess continued to cry, starring at Coyle through her trembling fingers.

Nami was confused too, and the smuggler, likewise, looked at Viola with a nervous expression, eyeing her with some advancing sense of panic and suspicion setting in.

"What are you thinking about?" the chef called out, charging at the smuggler with a kick, only to realise that he'd forgotten to use Haki as he passed harmlessly through the echo and crashed into some cabinets behind him.

"Hey! Be careful with that! it isn't easy grasping half of what that insane lunatic had written down" the director angrily shouted, before towards and try to comfort Viola, even patting her hand "There there, it's all in his head, nothing is going to get out and harm us/you Viola-chan-sama"

"What the…" the smuggler began, before Luffy cut him off "What did you see? Was it food?"

Viola ignored him, trying to hide her teary face in her hands, occasionally slipping a look at the Smuggler.

"That's the _Radiant One_ …." Was all she could muster.

Both Sanji and the director were beside themselves with worry, each trying to push the other away so that they could comfort her "it can't be anything but some monstrous evil deity!" the director went, pointing an accusing finger at Coyle, who looked offended at the man as he crossed his arms

"Got an funny idea about punishment for sins, sure, but insult the **Radiant One** again and I'll make your death slow!" while the title had been said with something bordering affection, the threat had an edge of cruelty to it that made any doubt evaporate. It sure got the Director to shake, afraid to take his eyes off the smuggler before him.

When Viola spoke however, he reluctantly did, with shock in his eyes at the words.

"That's…. so Beautiful!"

While the rest of the group looked at her with shock, Coyle sneered "Devil fruit…. The Giro Giro no mi (glare glare fruit) if I'm not wrong…"

Viola nodded in response "You're right, I ate it years ago,,, and it's served me very well, shown me all sorts of things…" the princess responded, while wiping her eyes

Nami cringed a little at her words, but if they could simply see the answers in Coyles' head and save their friends, then perhaps ignoring the obvious ethical problems were worth it.

"You're bluffing…" Coyle responded, trying to remain calm "Simple deduction… from my notes…"

"You want proof?" Viola smiled, happy that she had found Coyles Achilles heel "Your little prayer stunt before. That was you using observers haki to locate _the Radiant one…._ " she emphasized on that title, briefly pausing before continuing "And if you donøt want the world to know the truth about you…" she paused, letting the words sink in.

Looking at the smuggler squirm under her gaze, Nami was almost sorry for him, seeing the realisation dawn on him, like a deer caught in the headlights of a car.

"…What…" he started off simply, gritting his teeth as he looked at his feet, his fists shaking "Is it… you want… witch?"

While Sanji scolded him for his language and Viola remarked on his similarity to Rindo, Nami felt a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm going to make sure this little battle hasn't called any unwanted attention"

"See you in a moment Robin" turning back to the smuggler, Nami saw that he had begun to pace the floor whirling up pieces of newspaper as he went, glaring at the ground, his face contorting rapidly.

 _Like a trapped animal_

"Viola said you used haki before, could you use that to find any relatives of yours? Your journal mentioned siblings…"

"…I… could…" Coyle responded, still pacing and looking at his feet, his attention seemingly divided between his boots and the people in the room.

"Then please do it. We won't harm your family, we promise"

"I don't think this'll work Navigator-san" Viola responded "He's not entirely willing to share anything, even his journal is full of falsehoods"

While Nami wondered how much truly was false of Coyles' writings, the director was gloating "I knew it was filled with lies!" (but no one really paid him any attention, which he failed to capitalize on) "All that stuff of different types of Logia"

"Oh, my D-E-M-N ranking is real enough" Coyle responded, a little confidence returning, but he kept a downcast head "You just don't know what it's about, because you're too stupid to think is all… it's pretty straightforward really…"

Viola patted the furious director on the head, calming him down (a little) "how about we crack some more of _Coyle-kuns'_ secrets?"

"Certain secrets aren't meant to be shared! He'll just rat to those damn marines as soon as he knows!" the smuggler protested furiously, pointing at the director, who hid behind a cabinet, afraid that another blast was coming.

"He might have a point there, Violet" Sanji chimed in, before he smiled "But we can also use it!"

Nami didn't know why Sanji kept calling Viola that, when it was clear she wasn't a fan of the nickname, and strangely it didn't appear she was the only one who noticed.

"Violet…" Coyle tried the word slowly, earning him more of Sanjis' ire "That is a very interesting name…"

"What's so interesting about it? It's just a nickname" Luffy asked, looking confused at the smugglers' smile.

 _Something isn't right…_

"something about… your homeland, I suspect" the smuggler continued, his tone musing.

"What are you on about?" as soon as Viola had finished her sentence, she looked into Coyles' mind again.

Nami could see the regret settling into the very core of the Dressrosan princess' being in less than a second. Disease and several days at sea had taken a toll on the older woman, and she had no doubt seen her fair share of horrors under Doflamingos' rule of her homeland, but whatever it was she saw in Coyle's mind made it all pale in comparison, Viola certainly did, her arm falling limply to her side, a shocked and scared expression dominating her fine features, her eyes once again on the verge of tears.

"How did you…" her voice trembled and sweat forming on her forehead.

When Nami asked what she'd seen, Viola ignored her, instead looking at the smugglers' feet, or rather what was on the floor.

"N-ne-newspapers…. T-the articles…" Viola managed to stammer, her voice close to cracking, as she looked at Coyle with dread and shock in her eyes.

"I might not be able see into peoples' minds, but reading between the lines is easy enough…" he smiled confidently at her.

Silence immediately fell over the group, as most of the crew and the director looked back and forth from smuggler to princess in confusion.

The only sound in the room,

was Coyles' slow, condescending laughter

"Guhahaha!"

* * *

 **(In the tavern)**

As soon as Jinbe came through the door, he stopped in his tracks.

Not because the sight of the destruction caused him any alarm, after having seen Luffy eat, looking at a bunch of broken tables, cutlery and plates wasn't that bad, but because a sword slashing down on the ground in front of you was a good reason to stop in you tracks.

Jinbe looked angrily at Zoro, but the swordsman kept his focus on the other man in front of him.

Locating Usopp behind a table, Jinbe left zoro to his battle "What the hell is going on here?"

"Don't know! They just jumped us out of the blue!" the sniper responded with panic in his eyes, then he yelled over his shoulder "Those 10.000 men are all giants by the way! You better stop before I call them!"

"We've gotta stop this…" Jinbe mused, ducking under a bullet aimed for his head

"Yeah! We got to get the hell out of here and away!"

"No, we have to defeat them! Make sure they don't report finding us to someone else!"

Ignoring Usopp,

as the man would no doubt protest his plan,

Jinbe dived into the fray, fists first.

* * *

 **(in the museum)**

"What did you do?" Sanji demanded "Why is Violet like this?"

"I simply deduced something about your little princess friend, one of her secrets, which…" Coyle shrugged "…I really don't think she wants anyone to know about!"

If Viola hadn't stopped him, Sanji would've mauled the echo of Coyle then and there.

"Don't-please-don't…" she pleaded, her eyes never leaving the smuggler. To Nami, it appeared as if the princess was afraid of what he'd do if she even blinked.

"You talk about my secrets and I'll squeal about yours, got that?" the Fruit Merchant retorted bluntly, his eyes hard and unblinking as his gaze bored into Violas' eyes, making her shiver even more.

"You bastard" Sanji said slowly "how dare you blackmail her?"

The smugglers only scoffed in response "Get off your high horse bud, she was blackmailing me a second ago, I just evened the odds"

Nami looked concerned at Viola, her feelings torn between empathy at the princess' distress and the tiniest bit of schadenfreude from seeing Violas' misuse of her abilities finally coming back to bite her in the end.

 _But that's not important right now!_

"Coyle-san, please, we just want to help our friends, who just so happen to be your kids"

Coyle wasn't swayed much "I really don't see any reason to aid you, after all you could just be telling me a gigantic lie"

"We're not lying…" Viola managed, still afraid of what Coyle might say "I can sho…"

"Why would I take a dive into you head, from what I can see it's disturbing as hell enough already"

Again Viola shut up with a shiver, the tears returning to her eyes. Sanji immediately went to comfort her, offering to beat up the man, while the princess pleaded with them not to cause Coyle to squeal.

Nami looked at the smuggler with equal parts anger and sadness, _bastard!_ _why won't he help us?_

"If you're concerned about your family's safety, there is nothing to worry about, scoundrel" the director cut in "If they have done nothing wrong, the marines will not do anything to them at all"

Coyle only scoffed "You really don't know either the marines or the World Government, do you?" with anger flashing in his eyes the smuggler elaborated "All they care about is blood: If their enemies have a grandson, they're gonna kill that kid in the crib. _They've done it to the D clan for years…"_

Before Nami could open her mouth, Luffy looked at her seriously

"Why don't we just tap his blood? He's right there…" he pointed at Coyles' surprised phantom.

After a moment of silence the director responded, almost apologetically "It doesn't work that way… my abilities can only call back a persons will, personality and memories, not their physical presence"

"Luffy… please leave the questions to me…" Nami sighed, knowing full well he'd ignore it soon enough

"That's Monkey D Luffy?" Coyle asked with a surprised tone "You're related to _Garp the hero_?"

"Yeah gramps, what of it?"

"Don't look like him that much, perhaps back during _Locks_ …"

"Don't waste time on his bum of a grandfather!" Sanji cutting in, grabbing Coyle by the collar (with Haki hands) "Better you tell us what we want to know so we can save your daughters…" before he added, more sheepishly "Also how did you even met their mothers…?"

"Also, where' the Niku Niku no mi?" Luffy added in, tongue lopping out his mouth like a dog.

"One at a time!" the smuggler protested "Crazy hags caught my ship off their island and it was either do what they wanted or they'd kill the lot of us… I was lucky to a devil fruit out of that damn catastrophe…"

While Sanji looked at the man with his jaw nearly hitting the floor, the smuggler addressed Luffy "If I ever had that fruit, I'd have made my chef eat it and lived off the best meat on the seas for years!"

"Could the three of you focus for a second?!" Nami howled, only to be ignored by her captain, again…

"Hey, if you're a ghost, do you poop?"

"…I… don't know" the smuggler struggled, for the first time not being completely certain of anything, his feet dangling in the air "Don't know if I can even eat! You'd have to get me food and a toilet… have your guy here do something useful and get some grub, because he's crap at intimidating people" he nodded at Sanji.

"What was that?"

"Buddy, I faced the **Radiant One** after failing…" the look he gave Sanji made the chef pause and shiver "…You have no idea what scary is!"

"Sure, lunch would be nice now" Luffy mused "Hey Nami don't you have a tangerine or something?" at this, the last shreds of Namis' patience evaporated.

"I'm warning you…" she breathed slowly "Focus… on Rindo and Marguerite…. Or else…"

"I'm trying to Nami-chama" Sanji wailed "But he acts like he didn't want to meet their mother-chans at all!"

"I didn't! That meeting was a horrible disaster from start to finish!"

"Aw they're not that bad, except when they stuck me in a cage and took my hat!" At Luffys' comment Nami snapped, order had to be restored, and thankfully, she knew just how to do that:

 _Sorry about this Luffy…_ Nami briefly thought as she took in a breath, and whispered:

" _Gushishishi_ "

The effect was instantaneous, Luffy scrambling through a cabinet with a crash and hugging the wall for dear life, ignoring the thousands of little glass shards and smothered pages the flew everywhere.

"THE WORLD IS ENDING! EAT THE MEAT BEFORE IT'S TOO LAAAATE!" the rubberman howled in despair.

 _I guess I could have timed that better…_ the navigator mused, at which point she noticed the shocked stares the director and Coyle were both sending her

"It's a magic spell!" Nami quickly lied, _If they just buy that…_

"Coyle, if we don't get an answer right now, I'm casting the spell on you!"

Looking at the smuggler, Nami wasn't surprised to see that he was giving Luffy a particularly searching stare, on some level both understanding what had happened, refused to believe it and not fathoming it at all. Nami concluded that he hadn't heard her, she was about to repeat herself when the Fruit Merchants' lips moved, his voice barely above a whisper, but filled with awe none the less:

"What the freaking hell?...can't be…"

"Nami-chamas' ability" Sanji boasted, catching on fast "Do as we say or Nami-chama is going to do that to YOU! And apologize to Violet!"

"Fine, I'll find one… would you put me down first? This is a bit distracting!"

While Sanji put down the smuggler, Nami went and pried Luffy off the wall, trying to ignore the director gawking at her, as if she'd produced a second head or something.

Looking back at Coyle, she saw that he once again had folded his hands in prayer, though he was also shaking his head sadly "Even if I find someone, they could be at the other end of the ocean…" he mumbled before he looked up with a dumbfound expression.

"Okay… this day keeps getting weirder… I got one relative on a nearby island…." He blinked, looking at the surprised (and much relieved) group.

"By the way…" he continued, drawing in a sharp breath "…You might want do something about those guys hiding behind that ugly statue"

"Wha…" As Nami turned she was surprised to see that there indeed were people stepping out from behind the gold monstrosity, three in fact, one that Nami had definitely met, recognising the woman despite her disguise, another she could vaguely remember seeing before and a third, whom she was very familiar.

"Robin…" Nami breathed slowly, sweat running down her back, eyeing the liquid bonds that prevented the archaeologist from either speaking or fighting back, remembering how she herself had been caught in them on Tottoland while battling the enraged army sent after her and Luffy.

The one responsible, the woman, who'd once been dressed in clothes that matched her flaming red hair with the two dark horns, smiled grimly at the assembled pirates, holding a knife to Robins' throat while her shorter pumpkin-headed companion brandishing a sword.

"Glad to meet you again Strawhats… now surrender or _Devil Child_ dies!"

* * *

 **(In the tavern)**

Ramming his fist into another opponent, and even as the huge man toppled, Jinbe was looking around, trying to find his real target.

He soon found him, the massive captains' hookswords clashing with Zoros' katana in a twisted serenade of sparks and screeching.

"BLONDIE!" he called, furious at his old comrade.

The big bald man turned, his grin widening at the fishmans' approach

"Jinbe, you're here?" he hollered back, inattentive from the other fighter behind him, _Blondie don't know how lucky it is for him, that Zoro's not the type to strike someone in the back. But then again, he wouldn't have cared either way, the man practically lived for a good fight._

"We fought together at Marineford! Why're you attacking us?"

The smirk of the man turned into a confident smile, almost scheming in nature.

"Big Mom wants you guys' heads, and I kinda felt like getting in her good graces, given we're family and all…"

Jinbe snorted at this, were all pirates at the sea either with them or against them?

"Didn't take you for the sort to seek marriage" he responded flatly, knowing how Big mom allied with others.

"Oh, no no, you got that all wrong" Blondie denied with a wave of his blades "I'm not marrying anyone, but Big Mom gave me a few cousins years back, And I kinda think family should help each other, don't you?"

 _Of course…_ Jinbe mused, _surprise relations works with the enemy too, and the Charlotte family got enough fathers' sides to form a country of their own! And even if she scorned her former husbands, one and all, there would always be some relatives crazy enough to aid the Yonko._

"Fine" Jinbe said grimly, fists clenching "Let's see if you're man enough to claim our heads!"

* * *

 **(in the museum)**

"Let go if Robin!" Luffy repeated, his tone turning even more angry than before

"I just told you to surrender Strawhat, give me the princess and do exactly as I say!" the redhaired woman responded furiously. Luffy had a faint memory of the redhead being one of Big moms' daughters or something (even he found it hard to believe that she was related to Lola or Chiffon (and whatever it was Aladine's wife was called))

"What do you want with Viola?"

"A princess is a rare commodity Cat Burglar…" Galette replied "And I have over a dozen bachelor brothers...more than enough for all the others you've got stashed away!"

"Violet-chan! Vivi-chan! and Rebecca-chan!" an outraged voice cried out, only to be met by a:

"Can it Vinsmoke!" Galette snarled before eyeing Luffy, twisting the dagger at Robins' throat, just as more of her own comrades entered the wing.

While they were only three, the tall woman with the sword that Nami and Luffy had fought in Tottoland, a man with wings and the big guy from the market covered in dust and debris for some reason, Luffy recalled their prowess from earlier. Even he'd say that their odds weren't good.

"Coyle! Why didn't you say anything?"

The smugglers ghost merely shrugged "hmm, tell the people whom are blackmailing me about their enemies… sounds perfectly logical… _Cat Burglar_ "

Luffy knew the look that came over his navigators' eyes: She wanted to beat the living daylight out of the apparition (same with the others from the look of things) but she still managed to focus on the Yonko pirates in front of her, none of whom seemed to be pushovers.

And they had Robin.

"Do I really have to repeat myself again?" the dagger drew a little blood "hand over…"

"Let go of Robin!" the rubberman raged, his shout making the redhead scowl, which only worsened when Luffy drew his arm back to strike at her.

Nami cringed nervously as the woman smiled, and opened her mouth:

" _Gushishishi…"_

Again the effect on Luffy was instantaneous, sending him at highspeed into the statue of vice admiral Hoodie, toppling it. A moment later Luffy was still shivering and holding onto the stone for dear life, mumbling about dusters and earthquakes and yelping about food.

Meanwhile, the redhead smiled smugly "Seems that spell works for other people too"

Nami cursed herself for a fool, and it didn't get better when Coyle gave an offhand comment on it "Yep, that sure was stupid…" still giving the Strawhat captain that strange surprised look, like he was looking for something, and found _it_.

"Now…" the redhead began again, confident that she had the upper hand "You're also going to tell me everything about your mysterious backer!"

As the Big Mom pirates levelled several guns at them, Nami didn't know what to do: Luffy could be taken out rather easily, Sanji wasn't like to attack with Robins' life in danger (and there were two women against them as well), Viola was too ill to do anything it seemed and Nami herself couldn't take on five of Big Moms' subordinates!

And one of them was spouting _nonsense!_

"Just a thought…" all eyes turned to Coyle "It's obvious what you're going to do with them…" he waved a hand at the Strawhat pirates "…kill 'em as soon as you got that mediocre bird and some meaningless answers…" disregarding Sanji's protests the smuggler continued "but… I'm certain that you three…" he waved at the newly arrived "…stuck out like a sore thumb when you arrived…" he pointed at the large man "That one clearly smashed through a wall to get here… idiot…"

"What's your point?" the tall woman asked, calmly puffing on her cigarette, but eyeing the smuggler cautiously all the same.

"You really think you've come here unnoticed?"

A heartbeat later, the first shot was fired.

* * *

 **(in the tavern)**

Zoro was having more fun than he'd had in a week!

Practically not fighting anything after their stint in Dressrosa, he'd grown irritable and lethargic, at one point he'd even been too bored to drink!

 _Good Jinbe's attempt at diplomacy didn't yield anything_ he thought with a smile, as he parried another slash from the hooksword wielding Captain.

The man, blondie as Jinbe had called him, smiled and laughed at each strike, occasionally giving ground before striking back more savagely than before, never once resorting to use the pair of pistols in his belt.

 _This guy gets it_ … Zorro thought, just as he made a horizontal slash, intent on taking the other man's head, only for his blade to be met with one of his opponents' hookswords.

This wasn't going to be boring for him in the least!

* * *

 **(in the museum)**

Nami stayed hidden behind the statue hoping not to get hit by one of the bullets that kept flying overhead.

As soon as the marines had arrived they'd started shooting, sending both groups of pirates scrambling for safety. Wily as she was, Robin had used to chance to escape her captors, and were now hiding behind the stone statue with her friends, while the Big Mom Pirates had taken cover behind the golden one of Coyle, returning fire to the best of their ability, but it was a losing battle, the group simply hadn't brought enough guns to overpower the marines.

And atop of the roar of gunshot, she was certain she could hear Coyle and Luffy laugh merrily. Not surprisingly, since Luffy's elastic body protected him from bullets, while Coyles' echo or ghost form simply allowed the bullets to pass through.

"What are you two laughing at?!"

"We sure got Robin back fast didn't we?" Luffy responded with a big grin "with Cobils help we can get going and save our friends!"

"It's Coyle, you idiot! guhahaha" the smuggler corrected him, before laughing at a shot almost hitting the pumpkin headed pirate behind the other statue.

"And what are you so happy about?"

"Oh, I'm not happy, this is just so ridiculous, it's funny!" Coyle answered, as he fidgeted with a plaque from one of the smashed cabinets, his hands black with haki.

"What is Coyle doing here? And is he talking?" Nami could barely hear the feminine voice, shouting above the din, but no one could ignore the order that followed "CEASE FIRERING!"

The order was followed a few moments later, allowing either side to reload

" _Coyle the fruit merchant_ …" a feminine voice rang out, dripping with bitterness and disgust. Despite this, Nami could recognise it as belonging to the resident vice admiral, whom she'd overheard in the restaurant.

"So you've got Director Falco with you…" the vice admiral continued, her voice even "And you've gotten Coyle to talk…"

"It wasn't easy!" the director called from behind the statue "If not for Princess Viola, whom the pirates have taken capture, no one would've gotten this unfeeling monster to even utter a word!"

A moment passed before the Vice Admiral answered "Strawhat Luffy: hand over both the director and the princess unharmed, and I swear you'll get a fair trial!"

"I don't wanna."

Disregarding the captains' response, the vice admiral continued "And that will go for your crew as well, a short stay in Impel down for Cat Burglar and Blackleg, that is all"

"That place sucks! There's no foo…"

Nami slammed a hand over Luffy's mouth as she tried to figure out a plan, no way was she going to agree to a stay in a prison, and specifically not that one!

"That goes for you too Big Mom pirates! Surrender and you'll get a fair trial"

"Fat chance! It's the noose for us if you ever win at anything!" the red head responded angrily

"If we're caught, what do you think Mama will do?" the tall blue-skinned one responded calmly "Big Brother Katakuri will not let that stand, and what our other siblings might do… you're as good as dead"

Nami could almost hear the vice admiral grit her teeth, because she herself was doing the same. _We have to get out of here somehow! But how?_

 _And we have to know where to go afterwards…_ Nami thought as she looked up at Coyle, who was asking Luffy to bend the plaque for him(?!) the other two parties had resorted to shout curses, threats and counterthreats at each other, practically ignoring the Strawhats.

"Coyle-san, if you tell us where…" she began, before the smuggler interrupted her

"Maps on the plaque, look for a _really_ rundown house, ask the locals for the initials: **I.F.** You can't miss it"

The crew (and Viola) looked dumbfound at the apparition, before Sanji broke the silence "Why are you helping us now?"

"That one got spells…" he pointed at Nami "…and I don't have any juicy secrets of hers readily available" his smile made Sanji (and the director) twitch in anger and Viola cringe in fear, sweat running from her forehead.

 _Or was it the disease that had returned with a vengeance?_

"You vile, cowardly creature!" the director snarled angrily, pointing a trembling finger at the apparition "Mark my words, you're going to divulge all of your secrets to Gion-chan-sama!"

"Not without leverage you're not!" the smuggler smiled "What _else_ do you think I wrote down on that plaque I gave _Strawbrain_ here?"

Viola gasped and only Robins' hand on his shoulder prevented Sanji from assaulting the smuggler. (a number of the archaeologists' other hands constrained the director, preventing him from doing anything at all, including listening to what they were saying (or seeing them)).

Luffy didn't get it.

"But why give that to us?"

"Well _Devil child_ , or whatever you're called…" Coyle paused, allowing for Robin to prevent Sanji from making another attempt to assault him "…In the future, nothing prevents those marine bastards from summoning my dead ghost again, or that princess from squealing about my private matters, except for that little piece of dirt…" he tapped his finger on the plaque with a smug grin "And it's in any pirates' best interest that the marines don't know about all my findings…" the smile disappeared, replaced by a brief look of dread on the smugglers face "All of these are just the notes I wrote, incomplete and broken, buit still dangerous... the finished version could well pave the way for something that would make the ruins of Dressrosa…" he paused (Nami assumed for dramatic effect) "...look like nothing more than a kids' unkempht room."

While the image he conjured frightened her, Nami was perplexed at the smugglers' sudden change of attitude but decided against pressing the subject.

"Luffy, we have to get going!"

Luffy simply looked at the wall before giving her a thumbs up and a smile.

Nami sighed, she already knew what he was going to do.

But some random destruction was okay if it meant they'd escape.

"I'll take Violet!" Sanji volunteered, but the princess stopped him "I think I have to stay… the disease has come back…" the chef looked at her, crestfallen, while Nami and Robin nodded their understanding.

"If I stay here, it means that the marines might not follow you as you escape, then you only have to deal with Big Moms' crew…"

"Could work, the newspaper said her father was close…" the smuggler mused, still looking at the two other parties shouting angrily at one another, smiling at the whole scene.

"So we just need a divers…." Nami didn't say anymore, as Coyle simple jumped off the statue of his killer, and walked into the middle of the partially demolished room. She was going to say something, but Luffy put a hand on her shoulder, smiling like he knew what was going on for once.

The two parties stopped bickering, and simply watched the smuggler.

"I have a few questions, just out of academical interest…" he began, tapping his chin "You redhead!" he pointed at the ginger charlotte member "You obviously have a devilfruit and can control some liquid right, and is from the _devil tribe_ , correct?"

"…Yes" the confused response came

"Then how can it be you're so incompetent at using your powers? I thought Devil tribesmen were good at mastering the fruits!"

"WHAT!"

"You could've filled that birds' lungs with water and controlled her like a puppet, but you bind her? Are you an idiot? Have the Charlotte family started letting imbeciles grow up in their ranks?"

"...I AM THE MINISTER OF BUTTER!" the redhead howled at him, and Nami could see that some of her comrades were restraining her from assaulting the echo

"Guha!" the smuggler chortled "What was _Olive oil_ taken? Guhahahaha!"

 _He's setting them up_ , Nami thought, and, while she appreciated his initiative, she couldn't help but note how weird it all were, or feel sorry for the people he was mocking.

"I mean, Big Mom must have ten other kids lined up to take your place right? That is, if she hasn't found someone to marry you, or that tall one, off to, not enough takers I guess?"

The angry growl coming from behind the giant golden statue made it all too clear how the Big Mom pirates felt about that comment.

"What are you doing you weirdo?" one of the Marines demanded, Nami recognised the voice instantly, that fat marine captain they'd met some days ago, _Jollamb_ or something like that ( _authors note: it's Jolland from chapter 2_ ).

"Just getting some answers big guy, speaking of which…" the smuggler turned to the group of marines, hiding on the other side of the entrance.

"You're led by some Vice Admiral right?"

"Yes, I am the leader of this base…" a feminine voice responded "Are you looking to get a rise out of me as well?"

"Pretty much, but also, I'd like to know thing or two…" he took another step closer the entrance, resulting in a number of rifles being pointed straight at him, not that it mattered "You ate my _Hasu Hasu no mi_ , it says so on one of those stupid plaques…"

"Yes…"

"how long ago was that?"

"Some years… what is this all about?"

"If you've had years to train with it, how the heck can't you use it better?"

"I just said: you won't get a rise out of me." The vice admiral reaffirmed stiffly

"Are you too stupid to use it? Or did they just give it to you along with a cutesy tittle, _Gion-chump-sama,_ like some little pretty ornamental headpiece?"

Nami peeked over the statue, curious to what the heck the smuggler was doing. On the doorway, she could see the head of the vice admiral, looking angrily at Coyle

"I've earned my position, just as you've earned yours: as a memory of the past."

"If you'd earned anything, you'd have beaten this entire room by now, the _Hasu-Hasu_ is more than a few pretty petals in the air!" the smuggler retorted angrily, admonishing the female marine "Face it girly, you may have eaten a fruit, but you know nothing about its' potential!" Nami could almost see how the vice admiral was about to snap, Coyle only needed to push a bit more "I think the only reason you've earned anything, is because your daddy was some admiral or king or something."

"…my father was a mason…."

"oh, so you're either just a poster child for the sake of morale, or did you work you way up by seducing all of Marine Fo…."

Nami didn't hear the rest, as a moment later the Vice Admiral shot directly at Coyles' face, followed by the rest of the marines, disregarding that the bullets flew straight through. The Big Mom pirates didn't waste the opportunity and shot at the marines in turn.

Nami missed the commotion that followed, as Luffy smashed a hole in the wall, allowing the Strawhat pirates to escape.

Nami noted that Sanji gave an almost too longing look at Viola as the group scuttled through the hole.

If Luffy hadn't pulled at him, the chef might have stayed behind.

* * *

 **(behind the golden statue)**

Galette smiled at the sight of the Smugglers' head blowing open, but sneered as she realised it had no effect, the apparition laughing at the shots passing harmlessly through him.

 _Why the hell is his deal anyway?_

Then she noted the dust in the air, and, behind the stone statue, the gaping hole in the wall, where a little stocky man jumped, his arms full of Princess and his voice full of urgency:

"Vice admiral Gion-chan-sama! I've got her! I've got Princess Viola-chan-sama! But the Strawhats are loose in the town!"

Galette swore, they'd been outmanoeuvred, and in plain sight even!

"We got to follow them! They can't be allowed to escape!"

 _And we can't let ourselves be trapped here!_ She thought angrily, trying to formulate a plan for when they got after the Strawhats.

* * *

 **(outside the museum)**

"What do we do now?" Sanji complained as the quartet ran down the street.

Luffy didn't know personally, he was just running, it was bad enough that Nami would use that horrible sentence against him, but even he knew it was even worse that their enemies knew about it too! It was even worse than if they didn't have any meat on the _Sunny_!

"We have to get down to the harbour! The sooner we're out to sea, the better!" Nami urged

"But how do we do that Nami-chama?"

Robin, pulled Nami to her side and whispered something to her, a little smile on her lips.

When Nami reached for her climatact, Luffy felt a tad nervous when she turned to him

"Why're you smiling at me Nami?" he said in confusion

"Why're you smiling at Luffy Nami-chama?" Sanji whimpered jealously.

* * *

 **(In the market)**

The day had so far gone quite well,

He'd done what he'd been tasked to do,

Beat up some no name marine and create a little choice chaos: check

Procure the briefcase: check

Not loose what was in the briefcase, nor allow the marines to find out about: Double check

The last part was something he'd made particularly certain not to happen, the boss would be furious if it was lost!

He was just about to head to a bar for a drink when he looked up and saw…it!

While it appeared to be a huge zeppelin, he knew that no one would be stupid enough to actually make one with that kind of _decorations!_

"Well, Strawhat have never been that conspicuous any way…."

* * *

 **(slightly above the town street)**

" _I feel funny…"_

 _No kidding, I just blew up your head!_ Nami mused as she clung to her captains' shoulders, with Robin holding on to the other side.

Putting her climatact in his ear and pumping Luffys' head full of little flying thunderclouds, blowing the head up to the size of the sunny.

The principles were similar to a helium balloon or a zeppelin, and while it gave them an easy escape route, it also made the group stand out like crazy, but then again, the whole town was already on high alert.

"Why did you suggest something like this Robin-schwaan?" Sanji pleaded, jealous at Luffy holding on to either of the two women, while he was relegated to cling to his feet, which Luffy, true to form, couldn't keep still, walking on thin air.

"It's funny and fast Sanji"

"For whom Robin-schwaaaan?"

While the quartet flew through the air, Nami took the briefest of moments to look down at the town and it's inhabitants. She was briefly aware of a small dot that was waving something at them.

When she recognised the dog from Hannibals, she giggled, the little pug still hadn't realised how to actually load and fire the gun at them.

An angry snarl and a sudden tug at Luffy made her look down however.

Holding on to Sanji's legs, was the redheaded daughter of Big Mom

"Surrender!" she commanded, pulling hard at Sanji's legs, while her own had left the ground a while ago "Tell me, who your backer is!"

"We don't know what you're talking about!" Nami shouted "Sanji, kick her!"

"I can't harm a woman Nami-chama!" the chef pleaded "I just can't!"

Nami looked to Robin, holding on to Luffy, she couldn't use her abilities, and she was going to have a hard time using her climatact too.

And down on the street she could see the other Big Mom pirates pursue them, and though they weren't as fast, they weren't letting up.

Looking at the redhead again, Nami saw that she was aiming a gun at them.

As she fired, she missed both Sanji, Robin and Nami, hitting Luffy's giantic inflated head.

Naturally the shot bounced back.

But t Nami's chagrin, it didn't rid them of their attacker either.

Even worse, it seemed the redhead had leartn her lesson, and was now aiming at Sanji.

"We're going to have a little chat now…" the redhead smiled grimly at them

"I got questions, and unless you don't want to see Vinsmoke bleed out over town I suggest you answer them!"

* * *

 **(At the port)**

"But captain, are you sure it's a good idea to leave port now? We just got here"

"Call it a hunch…" the captain responded, looking at his crew

 _They're few, but strong_ he mused, before he explained the reason for their abrupt departure

"I had the same feeling when we cornered the mermaid princess, and when we sank that other crew…."

"And stole all their stuff!" one of his men added in with a cheer, before his partner slapped a trident over his head for interrupting.

Their captain continued, his voice equally grave and excited

"Something's going to happen, and soon!" he smiled in excitement, a good battle would get his mind off their misfortune for sure.

* * *

 **(in the tavern)**

Usopp dived to the side, narrowly avoiding the slash.

The burly captain laughed and was about to strike again, but a quick thrust from Zoro made him dodge out of the way, and focus his attentions elsewhere.

The sniper crawled along the ruined floor, trying to reach the entrance and get away from the madhouse that had been created.

 _Jinbe and Zoro should've been enough to deal with this guy! Why aren't they?!_

Throwing himself flat on his stomach, Usopp evaded the flying body of one of their opponents. Jinbe laughed lightly as the man slammed into the wall, cracking the stone, and sending the wall toppling down. Which made the roof fall down as well.

Usopp managed to dig his way out of the rubble, cursing his rotten luck all the way, he happened to look up.

"Kay… things didn't work out for Luffy and the others either…." He mumbled, watching the blimp-version of his captain, slowly descend towards the harbour. Squinting, Usopp grew a little jealous at the sight of Both Nami and Robin hug Luffy, but something else drew his attention.

"But… that can't be right, doesn't look like Viola-san at all…"

* * *

 **(up in the museum)**

Viola giggled at the sight

Strawhat-Luffy as a giant floating balloon wasn't something she had counted on seeing, and she wasn't alone.

Next to her, the smuggler apparition was chuckling with folded arms.

The marines present weren't as entertained, some of the higher ranked ones shooting at both crews of fleeing pirates as they ran fled for their lives.

The vice admiral however, was staring intently at Coyle.

"What is it Vice admiral _annoying_? If you're looking for a date, your best chance was the blonde guy that just ran off" Coyle pointed at the floating shape, the figure of Sanji visibly had something around his leg (Viola was too weak to use her powers, but hoped that it was Nami, the navigator really needed to forgive Sanji for his past mistakes)

Gions' eye twitched at the smugglers comment "When all of this is done… You're going to answer all of my questions."

"Anyone can answer the question that's on your mind right now" the smuggler looked at her seriously "Those weird shorts don't flatter your thighs at all" he laughed at her face, before adding "Not that anything could to be honest…" a left hook from Gion should've shut him up, but as it wasn't _hakified_ it did little to stop his mocking comments.

It didn't take long for the Vice Admiral to regain her composure however, especially after the Director informed her that Viola was ill and needed to be reunited with her family, and that the Strawhats had the other princesses too.

"be ready to move! I want the Strawhats captured and imprisoned, any member will do! Our main objective is to get those girls away from them, so no killing them! It'll make it harder to negotiate when we corner Strawhats little group"

"and what of the Big Mom Pirates Vice admiral?"

"They'll be following them as well, so don't worry about that Jolland, use your Zoan fruit to catch up and keep them under surveillance"

Then she turned to Viola

"Princess Viola, I'll see to it that you get to safety as soon as possible, but presently, Director Falco will be enough to get Rear Admiral Malta to escort you to your father, unfortunately, catching Strawhat takes precedence"

Viola watched the marines give chase, leaving her alone in the ruins of the Smugglers wing, with both the director and the phantasm of Coyle.

"Look at my beautiful museum! The hoodie family will be most displeased with me for the mess I've made allowed they were already angry that I changed the commercials for the museum against their wishes!" the director rambled on turning towards the exit and running off, presumably to find Malta.

Which left her completely alone, save for one… _person_.

"He'll be back soon I hope, I don't like to be left in this ruin" the phantasm scowled, looking at the disarray of his notes and old belongings "It's freaking depressing"

"Not as depressing as a father refusing to help his daughters" Viola scolded angrily, giving the echo a harsh glare "What kind of a person are you even? Bombing an orphanage and holding people hostage? And then there's Your Radiant One... how can a person like you have that sort of dream?! so beautiful."

"Still beats what you did, _Violet_ " the smuggler shot back, freezing her in place "A guy that dethrones your father, has you sister killed and then enslaves your country isn't exactly what good daughters, sisters, citizens or aunts go out and shares a bed with! I know Dressrosa got crazy women, but that's unforgiveable for everyone! Even yourself!"

Viola swallowed hard, knowing every word was true, and it had been her shame for years. One she hoped she take with her to the grave.

"I'm afraid, we've got that in common, your dalliance with the ku…"

"I did that for the crew, the crew and a devil fruit…" the smuggler interrupted her, his tone angry and voice rising to the level of a hurricane "And I admitted it before the Radiant One! I sought forgiveness for it! Faced the wrath of the Radiant One, and took every punishment chosen. You obviously haven't, so don't compare us!" his face resembled a volcano more than a human at the time, giving Viola a stare so piercing she thought it would go straight through her head and the wall behind it.

"Deep down, you imbecilic little worm, you're worse than me, because you dont' own up to your crimes, not one article speaks of the time you should've spent in Impel Down, not a word, or is that the usual royalty discount that's at play here? the same sort of ditance that makes you think you have the right to just read into someone elses' private affairs! I don't think I've ever met someone as loathsome as you and I've heard that guy talk for five minutes straight!" he pointed at the stone statue of Vice Admiral.

A moment later the echo began to dissipate into thin air, leaving Viola alone, safe for Director Falco that hurried to her side.

The only part of Coyle's phantasm remaining was the stinging feeling in Viola's heart.

"I'm so sorry for leaving you alone with that Brute, I was so focussed on getting you to safety with your father that I completely forgot the danger that Coyle poses on his own" the director kept apologizing at length, but Viola only heard about half before she snapped out of her shock at the smugglers words.

A few minutes later, she allowed herself to be led away from the ruined museum wing. Her shock was so great, that she couldn't even concentrate on what was going on outside.

* * *

 **(above town)**

Nami grinned as the pistol was shot out of the red haired womans' hand.

"Usopp has excellent aim, as always" Robin mused, looking down at the Charlottes' angry face.

But there was little she could do, for a moment later the Luffy zeppelin descended enough to land in the street, where Jinbe, Usopp and Zoro were to greet them.

"What the heck happened here?" Nami exclaimed, looking at the destroyed building behind the trio, carrying more than a few signs of sword-slashes and gunshots.

Zoros smile was bigger than it had been in a week "You missed a heck of a party!"

Jinbe had secured the struggling Charlotte daughter, holding her struggling body secure under his arm "We can cover why Galette was hanging on to you later, as to what happened here, let's just say that Big Mom has many allies, and we have dreadfully few allies as it is!"

"Where's Viola-san?" Usopp piped in, his slingshot aimed at the redhead under Jinbe's arm "And who the hell is this?"

Sanji quickly explained what had happened, with plenty of drama, which made Zoro visibly ill, which prompted a quick confrontation between the two, leaving the other question to be answered by someone else:

"That's…" Nami began, unsure of how to proceed "The _Minister of… Butter…_ " much to Usopps confusion, prompting Jinbe to explain

"Her name's Gallette, Big Mom's 16th daughter, she's been busy recruiting new blood for Big Moms' crew, they'll surrounded us if we don't get out of here fast!"

Swiftly the Fishman explained what he'd been told by Whitey Bay, about all those that had been recruited, and who just wanted to kill them for no reason.

"Right, then we need to go immediately!"

"I might suggest that we split up and cause some havoc first, it'll make a good smokescreen for both marines and Big Moms crew"

"So who's staying?" Luffy asked out loud, more than a little eager to get away

"ME! This place is great!" Zoro smiled grimly "You too Usopp, time to earn that _God_ title of yours" the sniper could only shiver at the thought, too stunned to object.

Robin volunteered as well, much to Sanji's chagrin, and Jinbe too, leaving only the chef, the navigator and the captain to go back to the ship.

But first:

"Galette-san…" Nami began, earning her the harsh stare of the captured Charlotte, and a few choice curses "What was that about a _backer_?"

"Your backer! Who is it? The one who's been trailing your every move and helped you at Sabaody!"

"We don't' have a backer!" Nami howled back "Where did you even get that idea?"

The redhead shut up immediately.

"Answer the question Galette, or else I'll find a pool to drop you in!" the former shichibukai's threat had the desired effect and the redhead started to open her mouth,

But any sound was silenced by the repeated shots that rang out across the street.

the rest of Big Moms crew had found them, and worse, some others were digging their way out of the destroyed house, immediately resuming their fight from before.

While the rest of the crew took up the fight, the chef, navigator and Captain trio ran for the harbour.

* * *

 **(on the seas)**

"I hear you, Ivankov-san, but we won't have anything to do with the rebels, our nations would be destroyed in a heartbeat!" Ivankov didn't much fancy the Merman Kings' tone, but it was understandable, it's not everyday you're told to step aside so you can strike at their bosses directly.

He'd been talking to the kings for a while now, the Den den Mushi occasionally projecting Dragons' voice to the group, setting the little king-boys on edge.

 _Not their fault_ Ivankov thought: _Dragon-san gets everyone on edge, he's so hard to read, even when you're talking to him directly, hell I didn't even know he had a kid in Strawhat-boy!_ (He was still a bit peeved at not being told about that)

"Now now, let's all take a deep breath king-boys, so we can think about this in a… who's that guy?"

The man Ivankov pointed at was seemingly one of the the Vinsmoke kings' servants, running for the King of Dressrosa for an urgent message from Runny Rum Archiepelago.

"What's this all about now heehaw?"

"The marines are bringing me my daughter!" the balding king yelled, his relief and happiness plain for all to see "She's being escorted by a Rear Admiral and Some museum director, they're heading straight for us!"

"Why the heck is there a museum director with her?!"

"He insisted on escorting her after she'd listened to that, and I quote:" the messenger began "Horrible bestial, must brutish, evil, sociopathic, violently vile scoundrel and definitely not a gentleman…"

"GET ON WITH IT!" the King of Providence yelled impatiently

" _Coyle the Fruit merchant_ …" the messenger quickly wrapped up, leaving the kings to nod in understanding "Of course, those two Kuja's father"

"Yes" the messenger continued "Apparantly, they somehow summoned his ghost or-echo-or-something and had him point out where some of his family were so they could save his daughters"

"Come again?" Ivankov said from the other ship, not certain he'd heard that right "Sounded like you said, _Coyle_ and _daughters_?!"

"You know him?"

"Sure, met him years ago, took one of the best chefs in Kamabaka kingdom when he visited, Nfufufu" the okama laughed "All for his _Radiant One_! Nfufufufu! Oh did he get into trouble because of that one! And now he got daughters! Plural! Nfufufufufufufufufufu!"

A grumbling from the Den Den mushi made Ivankov stop his almost hysterical laughter

"What was that Dragon-san? You know him too?" Ivankov placed the Snail directly at to his ear, there was no way he was missing out on hearing about Dragons' past. What he heard made him was a very clear order.

He snapped around immediately, ignoring the looks and questions of the kings, yelling at his own crew as loud as he was able (which, thanks to his devilfruit, could top the sound levels of a _Metallica_ concert).

"Alright Candies, we're breaking up! Full speed to Runny Rum! Gotta save Strawhat before he does something extremely dangerous!"

then he turned back to the snail in his hands, hoping to know what was going on

 _Sure, that guy was bad news on even the best of days, but where the heck does Dragon know him from?_

When he asked, Dragons response made his jaw hit the deck.

Then he laughed! Hard and long, a storm of chortles, giggles, snorts and all the other sounds a human mouth was capable of. When the Queen om Kamabaka Kingdom finally calmed down, he had to catch his breath.

"That was a good one! I really never thought you had it in you to make jokes Dragon" as he wiped a tear from his eye, Dragon spoke again, loud and clear: "I wasn't joking, I was telling you exactly what Coyle is."

Ivankov stood stock still, then his face started to move in slow-motion, his eyes widen, his mouth dropping. Skin grew pale, eyes bulge and quiver, nostrils flare.

On the other ship, the kings stood, watching their revolutionary _colleague_ intently, not knowing what to do.

When a moment later, the face of the huge headed man quivered and started to crack, they all drew back (even from the ever widening distance as the revolutionary ship began to pick up speed) when the body of the Okama fell backwards with a sickly sticky noise, leaving the make-up floating in the air, a perfect imprint of Ivankovs shocked face….

They didn't move, even after the other vessel began to grow ever smaller in the distance.

Eventually, they went back inside, where the green haired Vinsmoke Prince addressed his father "Why didn't we attack them? They were right there. Like sitting ducks!"

Judge blinked, mulling things over one last time before he answered "Something big is going on, and if we can figure out what it is… what it is Dragon knows… and fears… we can use it against him if need be! Besides, Ichiji is more than enough to deal with that freak at Runny Rum! He'll deliver him to us in chains soon enough, to be given to the World Government, and become proof of our power for all of the world to see!"

* * *

 **(on the Sunny)**

Luffy laughed as the Sunny began to leave the pier, just as another group of pirates stormed towards it.

He could hear Rebecca's worried demands to know where Viola was and that Sanji had to hold her back from jumping ship and go to her aunts' side.

"You jump, you get captured, that's a dummy move!" he called out, making himself heard atop the crash of the waves and the shots that rang out from the pier.

Rebecca seemed to see his point, which was good, but not as good as the course Nami was setting with Coyle's plaque. The guy had sure come around fast, good thing Nami had lied about that odd sentence that had begun to bug him so much lately.

Somehow it was like it both felt so natural and so horrifying at the same time…

"Meh, must be magic" he said, brushing the thoughts away, choosing got focus on their escape.

All the chaos that had unfolded in the town had apparently spread to the docks, Luffy could see several vessels that just lay about in the water, watching what happened next.

But he also saw that four ships had set their course directly for the Sunny.

* * *

 **(elsewhere in the harbour)**

He'd known it as soon as he saw all the commotion.

That idiot to Strawhat had gone and made himself a target again!

The only good thing about it was that he had a free view to the entire sea battle that was about to take place.

That and he'd put Caesar Clown in a, at least according to the salesman, glass jar that could hold anything.

One which His dog Bertram was sniffing at with a very confused look in his eyes. When the scientist began to make faces at the pug however, the pug brandished a knife and smiled viciously in return, silencing the madman immediately.

"Good boy, Bertram" he said offhandedly, looking through the binoculars as the battle was about to begin.

* * *

 **(on the harbour)**

Robin grumbled as the Big mom Pirates fired another volley.

Not only had they been steadily pushed back by both skill and sheep numbers,

Their hostage had also gotten loose and left for the other side.

Presently the Strawhat pirates were having a fighting retreat, and while that had been part of the plan all along, it didn't sit well with her with the way things were going.

And another crew had come in from the side, led by a tall gangling man with a longneck. A man whom Jinbe recognised immediately:

"Hangan! What are you doing with Big Mom?"

"Choosing sides…" the captain said reluctantly "The seas aren't as safe as they should be Jinbe-chan, my crew can't survive without a Yonkos' backing, and without my crew my daughter is as good as dead, but with a strong husband she'll do fine… I'm sorry" he levelled his rifle and fired at them.

Whether or not he intended to miss, Robin couldn't decide, but his crews' appearance served to coral their little group closer to the harbour rather than press them. A swift few thousand hands emerging from the ground stopped the newly arrived pirates in their tracks and gave Robin and her nakama time to flee further away.

As soon as they got to the sea, the Strawhats could join up with the Sunny.

When she heard how Jinbe intended to send them there however, she despaired, mumbling to herself:

"There's no way I'm not going deaf from Usopp's screaming is there?"

* * *

 **(on another ship)**

"Steady as she goes!" the captain yelled, eyeing the Strawhats ship in the distance

 _Soon!_ He thought

 _Soon I'll repay tha…_

He was momentarily stunned as he saw something hurling through the air towards his target, screaming all the way.

A moment later another shape, this one silent, followed suit.

Scratching the spot beneath his crown, he shook his head

 _Somebody else must be attacking…_

* * *

 **(on the sunny)**

Nami watched as the first projectile landed, skipping across the waves as until it landed on the deck.

She didn't need to ponder it much, it was evident what had happened as soon as the projectile uncurled, revealing a very scarred and shaking Usopp.

The next projectile landed in the water and didn't skip as much, meaning the nakama had to swim the last few yards to board the Sunny.

"You had to be thrown too Zoro"

"it could've been fun if Usopp hadn't screamed so much"

"What about Robin-schwan?" Sanji piped in concerned

"Jinbe-san's carrying her it seems" Vivi responded next to him, leaving the chef shaking in envy, it didn't get much better when the former Shichibukai jumped out of the water soaked in water, carrying the archaeologist bridal style.

While Vivi rushed Robin into the cabin for a change of clothes (with Brook was following closely behind them, Usopp retired for a change of pants) and Sanji glared at Jinbe, who was making his way for the wheel to relieve Franky of his position, Nami looked at the seas around them. It was filling up with marines ships and others that she didn't' feel like facing.

And soon enough the first cannonballs started to fall near the Sunny.

What did seem to work in their favour however, was that there were a number of different factions that all wanted a piece of them, and leave nothing for the others.

As soon as one marine galleon got close, a pirate ship began to blast it and vice versa. The constant back and forth made it impossible for the marine base to make it's titanic cannons come to bear, of fear of hitting their own.

But soon, some got very close, close enough for boarding.

Jinbe seemed to recognise some of them

"AMADOB!" he howled at a crowned man, just as he levelled a pistol and fired straight at Luffy (which hit, but since it wasn't a seastone bullet it got sent straight back) "Are you one of Big Mom's underlings now?"

"TO HELL WITH BIG MOM!" the man howled back, brandishing a sabre "I'm doing this for Whitebeard!"

"What the hell are you on about?" Luffy yelled at him in confusion "We didn't do anything to that old guy!"

"You didn't do anything for him either!" Amadob snarled back "When us real pirates were fighting Blackbeard, **you** were kicking back on some island in Paradise, afraid to fight!"

"that's' not true! We…" Nami began, but the other Pirate kept talking regardless

"YOU FAILED EVERY ALLY THAT BLED WITH YOU AT MARINEFORD, STRAWHAT LUFFY! YOU FAILED ACE'S MEMORY! YOU'RE UNFIT TO BE CALLED HIS BROTHER!"

Nami stood stock still at the words.

Watching Luffy, she could see the wheels turn in his head, the rage build up and start to boil over, but as Amadobs ship was forced away by another vessel, he had could only stand there and , with another ram into the Sunny in it's place, filled with marines.

The shock could be felt all along the Sunny, pushing it to the side, and making more than one crew member shake or loose their footing.

Which was exactly what sent the mermaid princess that was confined to the deck, off of it.

Nami watched in shock as Shirahoshi bounced off of the deck, and flap like a fish across another, and end up on a third ship bearing a Jolly roger she didn't recognise.

"Shirahoshi-chan!" several voices cried out in unison.

* * *

 **(on another ship)**

He couldn't believe his eyes.

A moment ago he'd been aiming to join in the battle that was waging between marines and different pirate crews, perhaps slam into the Strawhats if he got really lucky, the next moment: the missing mermaid princess landed on his deck, only being prevented from sliding off because his second stepped in.

"Well I'll be a monkeys uncle…." he started slowly taking a step towards the huge mermaid, who could only manage to lift her head and stare at him. In his fervour he didn't notice how weak or trembling she was, he could only see all their crew could gain from having her.

"You have no idea how much I've searched for you!"

The mermaid could only look at him with fear in her tired eyes.

* * *

 **(on the Sunny)**

Nami prepared herself for what was to come.

Boarding an enemy vessel wasn't something she was used to, and neither were the others.

Brook and Sanji were naturals for volunteering to save Shirahoshi, Vivi had insisted on doing something useful for a change and Chopper was a given since he was the doctor and Shirahoshi might need medical help.

While Luffy, Franky and Zoro fought off the boarding marines, sending more than one back into the sea with a splash.

Just as Zoro parried a slash and returned it (sending the poor man back into his comrades, toppling them like bowling pins), Jinbe brought the sunny within sight of the ship carrying Shirahoshi.

While they couldn't jump to it (at least without getting very wet) Nami's climatact enabled them to get there swiftly, and hopefully they'd have fought off any resistance when The Sunny arrived.

Brandishing her weapon, the navigator made a long bridge of clouds, and as they group ran across it, Nami hoped that Shirahoshi hadn't been hurt.

When they reached the end of it, the ship had moved a bit out of the way, but Nami judged that if they jumped hard enough, they'd reach the deck.

Flying through the air, Nami took in the small crew that were on deck, four in total, only two were armed, this would be over quickly.

The group landed on the deck, (with varying degrees of Luck, poor Chopper landed face first) cutting off the crewmembers that were advancing on Shirahoshi.

"Stop not a step further!" Sanji yelled at what Nami assumed was the groups' leader, a buff man dressed in red and black with strangely tall shoulders, who were giving them all a confused look.

From behind them, Shirahoshi mumbled something.

" _the horned captain_ " she managed feebly, looking straight at the tall shouldered man, Chopper gave her a one over.

"Horned?" the man began "Do I look like I got horns?" he asked aloud, looking at a longlegged man next to him, whose only response was "I don't' think the princess is well captain"

"You're the one that attacked those slavers!" Vivi said concerned, and given what they'd told Nami about it, she didn't have high hopes for their future.

"And those _Long Long guys_ , we got those too!" the captain bragged before laughing loudly "Bokukukuku! They were happy to give us their money when we were done with them! But that's peanuts compared to what **she** " he pointed at Shirahoshi "Is going to get us when we hand her over to her dad"

"You are not getting her!" Sanji proclaimed, lunging for the face of the captain, foot first.

What happened next, Nami had not expected: the longlegged man effortlessly parried Sanji's kick with one of his own and a punch to the chest from the Captain sent the chef backwards, coughing.

Vivi was the next to attack, wielding Nami's old climatact and aiming for a large crewmember that held a pair of tridents. Nami wasn't surprised to see her being disarmed almost immediately, Vivi wasn't accustomed to her staff at all, so challenging a specialist was a sure-fire disaster.

Meanwhile Brook was struggling against a man wielding a pair of sabres, looking intently into the musicians' skullface

"hey captain" the swordsman called out, pushing Brook away "I think these guys are Strawhats crew!"

Nami raised her climatact and shot out a cloudwall to prevent the opposing pirates from coming closer.

A moment later, it shattered behind the force of the captains' punch, the debris toppling Nami and several others to the ground.

"Right, if you're finished" the captain grumbled with his arms folded "When Strawhat gets here, We'll have a nice little chat about what's gonna happen with her" he pointed at Shirahoshi.

"If you think you can talk anything over with Luffy, You don't know him that well!" Vivi snarled, grabbing hold of Nami's most recent climatact.

 _This is not going to end well_

As soon as Vivi aimed the Climatact at the captain and pressed the handle, the weapon extended.

One end rammed against the deck, yanking Vivi into the air, forcing her to lose her grip and the climatact which shot into the air like a small missile.

Vivi herself fell flat on the deck behind the four opponents, much to their entertainment.

Then the four fighters began to advance towards them again.

* * *

 **(elsewhere in the harbour)**

"That little idiot" he grumbled condescendingly

"As always she doesn't know what she's doing"

He turned to his dog, the pug having been busy shining the glass jar and loading its' gun.

"Bertram" he pointed at the weapon the Alabastan prinncess had lost

"Fetch"

The dog immediately saluted him, before it jumped into the sea.

* * *

 **(On the ship)**

"ok, if you're done making a fool out of yourself…" the captain growled in annoyance "Strawhat can't deny us this chance! That Princess is gonna make our fortune!"

"You're going to sell her off! Like property?" Sanji snarled, having gotten over his previous injury

"Sell her?" the captain repeated "NO! we hand her over to her dad, he gives us the pick of his dungeons, thing nk about it!" he spread his arms, a far-away look coming over his eyes "How unstoppable wouldn't my crew be if we had Fishman Karate and Merman Combat?"

"I'm still not letting go of Shirahoshi-chan!"

"That's going to be Strawhats decision! Or are you undermining your own captain?"

Suddenly a form came jumping from one of the other ships, landing effortlessly on the bridge.

"Are you boys done fighting each other?" Robin called out from the bridge, smiling as she dismounted Carrot, who almost immediately gushed over the resident crew.

"This was barely a scrap! Besides…" the captain started "We didn't start it Devil Child-san."

"Yes, I saw from the Sunny, Ideo-san, I hope we can come to an agreement"

"You know these guys Robin?" Nami called out in surprise

"Sure she does, we met at Dressrosa" the captain, Ideo, smiled "We're the fourth division of the Strawhat Grand Fleet!" the groups expressions made the man scowl "You weren't told about us were you?"

"In that case!" Sanji smiled triumphantly "We can just take Shirahoshi-chan and get going!"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Ideo blurted out "DIdn't you hear what we're gonna get with her?"

"But you're our underlings!"

"the hell you say? We're allowed to do what we want, and we're handing her over to her dad! And getting the reward!" Once again, things we're about to escalate

"HEY!"

At the sound of Luffy's voice Nami spun around and saw the Sunny approaching, the battle from before ended, but several ships were already lining up to hunt them down.

"HEY! IDIOT! GREAT TO SEE YOU!" Luffy waved at the other captain

"IT'S IDEO!" was all the man managed before the pursuing ships almost got in range for their cannons to be effective.

Unanimously they all agreed to get the heck out of the area as fast as possible.

* * *

 **(in the town)**

"We can't stay here, the marines are getting more organized!" Hangan remarked, making Galette grit her teeth, in frustration.

Not only had they made themselves very noticed by the marines, the strawhats had escaped, and she'd be insulted deeply by some annoying ghost smuggler!

To top it all off, it seemed like she would be the one to explain it to Mama.

"Sister Amande, perhaps we should lay low for a while"

The taller woman simply looked down at her sibling, puffing on her smoke. If Galette didn't know her sister better, she'd believe Amande was _supreme in her indifference_ , but knew that something was nagging the older woman.

"Sister?"

"wa..? yeah sure, let's do that, but what about our guys in the harbour?"

"Yeah?" the rotund Blondie added, slightly annoyed that his battle was already over "I don't want to leave my cousin in that mess of ships!"

"And he won't be" Galette assured him "And even if Brother Brownie would somehow get involved, we'd be sure to avenge him shortly!"

she turned to the rest of their combined forces "For the time being we'll go into hiding, fighting the marines isn't going to get us anywhere!"

 _and besides..._ she thought to herself as the crews scattered in all directions,

 _that damn ghosts' taunts might be good for something!_

* * *

 **(On the Sunny)**

Nami breathed heavily,

they'd managed to escape the chaos of the harbour and had found some sort of shelter amongst the Archipelago's minor islands, most of which was large enough to hide the Sunny amongst the waves.

the rest of the crew were more or less silent,

Sanji was still wailing about what had been decided: that Ideo and his crew should act as an escort for Shirahoshi, and Robin had joined them so she could discuss it with King Neptune personally (Which to Sanji was the same as loosing three beautiful womens' presence in one day!). that way they all got what tey wanted: Shirahoshi cured and Ideo got the skilled manpower he wanted (he'd also, unsuccesfuly, tried to negotiate Carrot to join him, since he wanted a mink on the crew). Luckily his mood was kept up by having to comfort Rebecca when the former Gladiator heard what Coyle had put her aunt through.

Usopp was still shaking, holding onto the wheel, both to calm his nerves and to steer the ship.

Franky was repairing whatever little damage the Sunny had taken and Chopper was seing to the two remaining patients in the Womens' cabin.

Vivi had apologised so much to Nami for accidentally throwing away her new climatact (Which Nami had naturally already forgiven her for, but the princess still kept her distance).

Zoro and Jinbe had decided, recklessly in Nami's eyes, to delay any pursuers.

Jinbe by sea and Zoro from deck to deck.

The two had cut a swathe along their way which was hard to ignore for either pirate or marine.

which left Luffy...

After hearing what that man Amadob had said, Nami could understand that her captain was upset,

angry,

seethingly furious even.

But she'd decided to give him some time to cool off (but still under her close watch).

Nami herself had set a course to their next destination.

Coyle's plaque had been a huge help, coordinates and instructions about how long it'd take.

what irked her was the inscription he'd left aas well:

 **To whomever of you dummies read this:**

 **I'm not that big a bastard to write down someone elses personal problems or screwups, so you won't find the little princess' secret here, that blonde would be cassanova would've had a fit anyway.**

Nami was forced to agree, and was secretly thrilled that Coyle atleast had that shred of decency,

what next he'd written concerned her though:

 **About that _gushishi_ spell giberish: there's no such thing as spells, just mysteries and abilities you can't explain yet. Magic isn't something you cough up out of the blue.  
**

 **What that kid has is a trauma, and a big one! Triggered by that persons' laughter! Get it in order or the moron's done for next time you meet either marine or Charlotte family again, because both that dwarf director and that redhead are both bound to talk at some point!**

Nami read part of it again

 _Laughter? how could Coyle be so sure it's laughter? and why would that affect Luffy so much?_

Shaking her head, Nami red the final part:

 **But fortunately, if I'm right, this trip is going to cure him of that too.  
**

Nami couldn't help but be worried by that sentence.

Coyle had proven to be nothing if not irrational and had now proven to be completely incomprehensible.

One moment being completely against them in all matters, the next he'd seaved thier hides, and she still didn't know what had made him change his mind.

But if he was right, which he'd proven to be on a number of subjects so far, then At least they'd save Marguerite and Rindo soon. And deal with Luffy's _trauma._

Somehow, despite the problems they'd faced with:

1\. first finding the princesses,

2\. then realising that they'd gotten ill (and having to live with all those other women on the same ship)

3\. and then Finding a cure (and who could provide the ingredients)

had only taken a scarce few days,

Nami couldn't shake the feeling that they were about to end something that had been a long time coming.

Looking at the setting sun,

Nami dearly hoped it was true.

But she also had a feeling...

that they'd enter some truly dark territory before this adeventure was over.

One that would change their lives,

for eternity...

* * *

 **End of chapter 16**

Next chapter: **Surprising Family Members _  
_**

I didn't include as much action in this one as I promised, all the different plot threads had to be sort of resolved and were jumbled up to eleven, but that's going to be lessened over the next few chapters, as I'll do some cleanup.

 **Threads this time around:**

 **Strawhat Pirates** : sets a new course and leaves something behind along the way.

 **Princess Hunters** : the crew that faced the macro crew finally gets lucky and their identity is revealed.

 **Big mom pirates** (and subgroups): hot in pursuit and baying for blood!

 **Marines** : going to dish out some justice.

 **Mysterious party:** isn't entirely certain what's going on upon the archipelago, but are bound to investigate soon.

 **Revolutionaries:** forced to change course.

 **Royalty:** meets someone who they don't get along with that well, bides their time aside from that.

 **Rnr if you'd be so kind**


	17. Chapter 17: Surprising Family members

**Blood ties like Iron Chains Chapter 17**

 **Surprising Family members**

* * *

 **(Near Dvorak, one of Runny Rum Archipelagos smaller islands)**

"Is this it?" Nami said, as she took in the small island as the Sunny approached it. Even from a distance it was obvious that the island and its inhabitants were nothing special.

But if Coyle was right, it was here they find one of the smugglers relatives, the mysterious **I.F**.

Thinking back to him, Nami was really happy to be rid of him. Murderous one minute and happy-go-lucky the next, it had been like dealing with an intelligent Luffy, albeit one where the empathy had been lowered to make more room for extremist cruelty, blackmailing and mind games.

Looking back at the deck, Nami found that it was weird how empty it had become.

After Shirahoshi had ended up on another ship, belonging to the Ideo pirates (yet another member of the Strawhat Grand Fleet she'd have to get used to) it was back to its usual spaciousness. It didn't help that Robin and Brook had gone with the smaller group to deliver the mermaid princess to her father Neptune.

She hadn't heard anything new, so she assumed that they had yet to meet up.

Looking out over the sea, Nami considered how they'd gotten there, not their beginning adventures in East Blue, when the world was lonely and simple, but this adventure: princesses (and Kuja) missing → find women with Sanji's _pervoyancy_ → save women → find out some of the princesses and both Kuja have become ill → find cure → cure is some odd mixture with blood of close family members in it → finds out Kujas only family is the crazy super smuggler Coyle, who is dead….→ consult Coyles' journals and then his " _ghost"!_ → smugglers' "echo ghost" sends them to a relative. All the time having the crew dodge either crazed pirates or fanatical marines!

And now there was something else that had to be taken into consideration…

"Is something wrong Nami?"

Looking down, Nami smiled at Chopper, who was looking up at her with a tired look in his eyes.

 _Figures_ , she thought, _he's been busy with 4 patients for days now_

"Just a feeling Chopper… when we escaped from Big Moms' daughter at the museum, she had demanded to know who our backer was… Who had foreseen our return to Sabayodi and then helped us… I didn't even know that! and how could she know that anyway?"

"Dunno…" the reindeer responded with a shrug "Perhaps some of Big Moms' spies found out and told 'em" he yawned.

"Hey, how about you catch some sleep, We need our doctor to be in top shape, even you can't cure Rindo and Marguerite when you're tired"

Chopper didn't answer, instead beginning to sway from side to side, too tired to even obey gravity.

When he began to snore, Nami took heart and stood next to him so he didn't fall over.

Eventually she scooped up the little reindeer and carried him to the kitchen where Sanji was busy making something for the crew.

 _A full stomach was a calm person I guess_

Sanji was almost too busy smiling at Vivi who were filleting a fish to notice her, and she liked that particular change of pace, as it allowed her to leave almost as soon as she'd entered, swiftly handing Chopper over to Rebecca who hadn't been doing anything (aside from worry about her aunt).

Making her way to the bridge, She could see Franky calmly steer the Sunny around the small island, trying to find a pier so they could dock.

Usopp had retired to the boys' cabin, or so he said, Nami distinctly remembered seeing him sneak off to the library, no doubt in her mind that he wanted to avoid another fight.

Which left, aside from the two Kuja in the sickbay, Luffy.

Unlike his usual behaviour, he wasn't sitting on the figurehead, starring into the horizon, but was sitting on the deck, looking angrily at nothing.

 _Still seething from what Amadob said…._

Nami understood of course, hell she was angry at that pirate too!

But she had to push those thoughts aside, and so did he.

There were two people in the women in the infirmary that needed their aid, and that didn't come if they were distracted by anything.

Nami didn't know it yet,

but there'd be plenty of distractions on Dvorak!

* * *

 **(On the seas)**

Neptune shivered.

Not from cold but from worry, he hadn't seen his daughter in almost a week (more than he'd ever gone without seeing any of his children) and she was ill too!

When he'd received the call to come pick her up himself, he'd rushed off, only to be stopped by his host the pesky Vinsmoke Judge, who insisted on bringing an escort of Germa troops, including one of his sons (the one with the green hair) for safety reasons.

Neptune only required a squad of highly trained doctors to see to his daughters' health, but his Germa colleague had been persistent.

Which meant that he was now stuck with a motormouthed Germa prince, whose attentions alternated between asking about his daughters looks and drooling over the Strawhat crews' wanted posters (only the female pirates though).

"So when you said your daughter was big, did you mean big for me, or big for you?" the green haired prince (Yonji he was called, but to Neptune, the boy was _Kelpji_ , it just fit him so much better).

"Big for me…" the merman king sighed, holding up a hand to signify his daughters' height (which was above his own head).

Looking down at the smaller man; Neptune noted his large eyes, the open mouth and the raised eyebrows: some of the surest signs of surprise and awe.

If it's wasn't for the lecherous tongue that hung out of the mouth, the panting and the hearts-for-eyes, Neptune might have found little Kelpji endearing.

 _Please_ Neptune prayed inwardly _let my daughter return to me safe and sound, and let the doctors know what they're doing! Please give me the strength needed to shoulder any problem my child may have!_

After a moment of thinking (and listening to Kelpji's panting), Neptune hastily added

 _And the strength to not throw this little creep overboard!_

"Your highnesses!" the lookout suddenly called "ships ahoy! One from the South East and one from North East!"

 _What? There was only supposed to be one for the meeting!_

"Any symbols on them?" Neptune called back, worried

"One is the ship we're due to meet, the other is the Revolutionaries from earlier!"

"Great!" little Kelpji howled, rubbing his hands in glee "We can save your daughter, AND beat that weird guy!"

Before Neptune could stop him,

the prince had given the order to charge.

* * *

 **(On Dvorak)**

"So you're looking for a rundown house… and Someone with the initials **I.F**.?" the blonde girl repeated, giving the Strawhats an odd look (the kind only a country bumpkin could manifest) "…Are you tax collectors?"

"Nope, I'm gonna be PI-" Luffy began before Franky put a large hand over his mouth.

"We're just looking for a distant relative" Nami said with a smile, technically that was true, just not one of theirs.

"Ysabel… I think they're talking about… you-know-who" an older woman next to her added nervously. The similarities between the two were so numerous that even Luffy could recognise them to be mother and daughter, except for the wrinkles around the middle-aged woman's face.

"Oh, you mean…" Ysabel responded loudly

"Not so loud! She might wake up!" the girls' mother hushed her before she could finish

"We heard she was getting visitors, but we didn't know it was so soon, we barely finished cleaning her house"

"Her?" Luffy repeated in confusion, getting a strange feeling at the back of his neck

"I.F. of course" the woman responded, "I'll show you the way, just promise you'll be quiet!"

"How'd you know she was getting visitors?" Nami asked an eyebrow raised

"Someone called her yesterday and said someone was in the area… someone she knew, she wasn't happy about our questions, so we stopped"

"Who is this I.F. person anyhow? It's super mysterious!" Franky added in while he combed his hair into a small mohawk

"You don't know her?"

"I.F. is related to someone we know, someone who needs their help!" Nami explained

"If they don't get it, THEY'LL DIE!" Luffy added in, still feeling that odd sensation travelling down his neck to his spine. But that didn't matter, getting that damn cure mattered!

"Oh dear… Well, if it's about family, I Guess it wouldn't hurt to introduce you to her…" the woman gulped "it's right this way…"

As the woman led the group away from the house, Luffy couldn't shake the feeling that he should be running in the other direction…

* * *

 **(On the seas)**

"Well nice to meet You Ivankov-san, Dragon-sama… mentioned you _"_ Robin smiled at the large headed Okama, hoping to wrap this up as soon as possible.

"Yeah, yeah, you too, where's strawhat-boi? I got to stop him from doing anything Coyle-boi tells him-busu!"

"What do you mea-" Robin shivered as another blood curdling scream erupted from the third ship.

"How long is she gonna scream like this?" Ideo scowled with gritted teeth "She's been like this ever since your ships slammed into each other!"

"Oh, that's simple" the large form of Neptune added, without looking up from his sick daughter, holding her trembling hand as she were being treated by the germa's doctors "SHE, used to be a HE" he snickered, unable to contain his mirth

"WHYYYYYYYYY?" the green haired woman kept screaming, tears streaming down her cheeks as she wailed at the heavens, knees bent and repeatedly slamming her female form unto the deck in a sobbing clump (Brook asking to see her panties didn't help).

"… _ **How?**_ " Ideo muttered as he watched the large headed man smile and wave his hand

"I just gave him a hormone shot, as soon as she gets used to it, she'll be much happier-busu!"

"I CAN'T MARRY A MERMAID PRINCESS LIKE THIS!" the greenhaired woman screamed dreadfully both hands grasping her head in despair.

While the Ideo pirates and Brook watched the anguish of the former man (Neptune took a small moment out of his worry for his daughter to try and console her/him, but somehow saying " _he had sons too"_ didn't exactly help the situation), Ivankov told Robin what was wrong.

Even ten minutes later, Robin still felt, despite Ivankov telling her it wasn't so, that her jaw had hit the deck at some point during the explanation.

Someone that could scare _Dragon_ was something to avoid at all cost, and her friends were heading straight for them!

* * *

 **(On Dvorak)**

Nami blinked as she saw the house.

When Coyle had told them to look for a rundown house, he hadn't been exaggerating!

Especially the parts about _not being able to miss it._

Located at least 50 meters from the other houses in the village, everything spoke of staying away from it.

The whole building looked like it was about to fall over! Crooked wooden walls, a small porch, dark and forbidding windows, many of which were broken and shattered. Parts of the walls seemed to have weathered a storm, while others bore the marks of fire and smoke damage. Even the stone foundation hadn't avoided whatever had happened, part of a rocky corner hung freely over a small sinkhole, while a massive stone formation seemed to have pushed up from beneath the opposing side, making the whole structure tilt about 20-30 degrees.

It had more in common with a haunted house ready for demolition than it did a home.

When Franky saw it, Nami was sure he'd scream (double for Usopp (even as it was bathed in sunlight, the building would've made Thrillerbark look tame in comparison!)).

Fortunately, the Cyborg had gone to pick up the others, specifically Chopper and the two Kuja. The rest of the crew, and guests, were sure to follow (Sanji and Usopp in particular, the chef wouldn't be able to leave the girls' side, and he'd be in a double hurry to meet the female I.F. The sniper would join simply to not be alone).

"Who's I.F. anyway?"

Luffy's sudden, and loud, question, made their guide shiver and panic "Please don't speak so loud, **she** might wake up!"

To Nami's surprise, the rubberman shut up immediately, even more concerning, was that he was shivering a little.

"Why're you so afraid of I.F? and what does it stand for anyway?" Nami ventured

"oh, I don't know about the **I** , dear, but the F fits her name all right" the woman hurried off nervously

"You haven't answered my other question."

Taking a deep breath, the guide began to explain "It's not her, we're afraid of… it's what happens when she's awake… and… _working!_ " she pointed a shivering finger at the porch, where Nami could see a figure in a rocking chair, legs up over the railing, newspaper over the face, snoring louder than anything Nami had ever heard (and she lived with a crew of loud sleepers!)

"She moved here about two years ago…" the guide whispered, eyeing the porch as if she expected a bomb to go off at any moment "…and things haven't been the same since…"

"Wha-" Nami was interrupted by a loud ringing from her den den mushi, upsetting the guide and making the figure on the porch stir.

"Hello?"

"You have to get away from there! You're-in-danger-Dragonsayssoooo-RUUUUUUUUNNN- moveHIDEcoverDIVE!"

The barrage of incoherent gibberish was both loud and overwhelming, but Nami could recognise some of the voices, Robin and Brook… and somebody else, whom Luffy called Ivankov (apparently one of Luffys dads' friends), who were screaming the loudest.

"Hang on, I can't understand a word you're…" Nami began, before their guide slapped the snail out of her hand with a horrified expression "Be quiet! Or you'll wake…" she stopped short, realising two things:

She'd used far more force than was necessary.

Where the snail had gone.

Flying almost lazily though the air, it landed on the porch, right next to the sleeping woman, Robin's voice ringing clear from it.

The sleeping form stirred,

and grasped the snail.

"Wuzzat?" At the sound of the woman's' sand grinding voice, Luffy shivered violently, starring wide eyed at the form as it lazily listened to the snail.

Then she suddenly sat up

" **Dragon?! listen here** : I gave him 2 years to get that world improvement thing done! AND he's late for dinner by almost **20**! If he doesn't get his act together I'm gonna put my foot down and come looking for… What the hell did you say?! LUFFY! **WHERE**?!"

Nami could halfway understand Luffy's reaction, the way the woman talked could've made paint peel off and stone turn to sand.

"Huh…" the figure said after a while "They hung up" shrugging, the mysterious I.F. removed the newspaper from her face.

Nami didn't know what to expect, but either way she was surprised to see a, relatively normal woman's face underneath, rather plain really, aside from a bit of crowsfeet the only thing that marked her as middleaged was the look in the eyes, like liquor with even darker sediments, and the scowl. Blackhair in a tight knot while her slim form was dressed in a simple, sleeveless dark shirt and even plainer white skirt.

Nami was even more surprised at her companions' reactions: Luffy stared at the woman with wide blank eyes and their guide shivered visibly, her mouth trembling as she started to speak

"Mi… Miss Fran, you've got visitors"

"Wuzzit? Tax collectors again?" The woman said as she turned, wiping her eyes "When do they get that I don't wanna join that crazy cult? And why do they always come to my house firs…" She stopped, looked straight at Luffy as if she'd just seen an old photo of some lost memory,

Then her brow furrowed and her eyes began to twitch

" _LUFFYIIEEE?!"_

Nami shivered at the tone of her voice, the sheer bitterness and disappointment in it could make an entire classroom of hyperactive children fall silent, look at their feet in shame and press their backsides to the wall, though they knew full well the spank that was coming would shatter it.

When the rocking chair came flying and smashed into Luffy's head, shattering it into smaller pieces, the rubberman was sent tumbling to the ground, a mixture of shock and pain on his face.

" **The hell is this for a time to drop in**?!" the woman continued furiously "You're almost as bad as your father! You just wait till I get my hands on **him** **!** " the woman said as she walked down the trail, fury radiating from her at every short trembling step.

Luffy, paralyzed by dread, could only watch in horror as she approached. Their guide didn't suffer the same problem. The woman was already back in the village, leaving a small dustcloud behind her.

"And what the hell is this?" the woman said, eyeing Nami with naked scrutiny "16 years and you decide to bring a girlfriend! You're way too young for that sort of thing young man!"

A tick in the corner of her eye brought Nami back to reality, just as Fran picked up a piece of rocking chair for a makeshift club, continuing her menacing walk towards the reeling pirate captain, trying feebly to get away from the advancing harpy.

"Wait… " Nami began, thinking all the things she'd seen and heard the past few minutes through

" _Wait_ and then what?" Fran looked at Nami with simmering anger "This better be important, I'm about to smack him around" the club pointed at Luffy

"Are you Luffy's… Mother?"

Fran stared at Nami, a new look entering her furious eyes,

It returned as soon as she looked at Luffy, her tone turning more infuriated

"You forgot to tell about me didn't you?"

Nami stood helplessly as Fran proceeded to beat her son senseless.

* * *

 **(at sea again)**

"What happened? Why'd they hung up when they we're asking a question?"

Robin didn't know, the person she'd spoken to didn't sound like Nami, and if it was the woman Dragon feared, then she understood all too well why.

But given her reaction, it seemed highly unlikely that she'd hung up on them.

There was only one explanation:

the signal had been cut somehow.

* * *

 **(on Runny Rum's main island, the marine base)**

"That ought to do it" Commodore Durkey said with a smile

"The marines are now the only ones that can communicate on the archipelago, everyone else has to get off of it first"

"Well done commodore" Gion responded flatly

It was a small victory, curbing the pirates' communication was essential to crippling their movements. That way, catching them came easier.

Even if both the Big Mom and Strawhat crews had gotten away, Gion was positive they'd find them soon.

 _At least they weren't allies…_ she thought, _that'd be a big problem, but why did they talk to Coyle?_

 _And where did her send them?_

Director Falco had left with princess Viola and Rear Admiral Malta as soon as a ship got ready, but Gion could get their testimonies later.

What mattered now was capturing the pirates that had run rampant.

She wouldn't make the same mistakes again!

"Commodore, You are to realy a message to the entire base"

The stoop backed man turned towards her, surprise in his ugly face (and giving her the elevator eyes from sheer habit) before croaking "What'd that be Vice Admiral?"

"I want every marine on Runny Rum Archipelago ready to move out in force if need be, tell everyone to be ready"

The small man blinked "Everyone… even the reserves?"

"Every marine" Gion reaffirmed, before adding "Even the ones in custody"

Durkey turned around sharply, a look of discontent on his face "Even the traitor?"

"It's a chance for her to make amends" she gave Durkey a stern look "And I'm all for giving second chances, else you wouldn't be here after how you treated her"

Durkey shrank back at her words, resembling the disturbing offspring of a weasel and a rat, which had then been forced to beg for a couple of months. Gion instantly remembered clearly why the man had been passed from base to base like a ping pong ball (due to repeated insubordination and complaints from the vast majority of the female marines he'd worked with).

"Yes, I want Ain with us, I've no doubt her abilities and skills will prove useful"

 _It''ll also help her case with the judges..._ Gion thought, hoping the tribunal of justice would agree,

which she was certain they would,

especially If Ain helped arrest Strawhat and his crew

* * *

 **(on Dvorak, inside Fran's house)**

It had taken five minutes for Franky and the rest of the crew to pry Fran off Luffy, who at this point looked like when he'd allowed Bellamy to beat him on Jaya.

Fran didn't stop chewing him out verbally though, Nami had never imagined she'd hear someone say "forgetful moron" 200 times in a row (only being broken by the occasional _imbecile, tit_ and _full blooded idiot_ ).

Fortunately, now things had settled down… sort of, even if their guide had returned, bringing tea and settling them into Fran's living room (which looked as horrid as the outside of the building, the smell of burnt tar and something else was just icing on the worst cake in the world), Fran was still furious at her son, berating him like only a mother could.

"16 freaking years! And you forget about me?" She hollered as she shook a fist at him "I who brought you into this world! I promise you, I can damn well bring you into another one! ONE OF PAIN!"

Nami was tempted to come to his defence, but she had enough experiences with Bellemere to know that it wouldn't end well.

And nobody else was getting into the middle of this.

Vivi and Rebecca stayed back from the torrent of curses that emitted from Luffy's mother, neither knowing where to even begin. It was the same with the others, Franky was trying to focus on the building (Nami had been right about his reaction, still looking at the structure with almost as much dread as Luffy showed Fran).

Usopp was torn between having fun at Luffy's expense of trying to find a place to hide.

Chopper was busy with his patients who'd been put on the couches and Sanji stared at Fran, blinking every now and then, not certain if Luffy's mother was even female with that mouth.

"…and Garp! When I get my hands on him, he'll wish he'd died in Marineford! Wanting you to be a marine! BULL! I wanted you to be a mailman, but nooooo! I also wanted to name you Lorenzo, but your father was against that! what the hell is up with the men in the Monkey family I'll never know! Unreasonable twits the lot of you!"

And with that, she started to sulk, allowing the guide to give her a cup of tea, before she hurried off. Not willing to be caught in another of Fran's verbal barrages.

Which were sure to come soon, judging from the angry tick in the woman's eye.

Nami didn't fancy waiting "Excuse me…" she didn't' get to say anymore

"Sure, the bathroom is in the back" Fran pointed behind her with a thumb.

"I'm not… I'm sorry to disappoint you miss Fran, but…"

"You've done that since I first saw ye girly"

"Wha.." Nami's face looked like a huge question mark, while Fran unabashedly continued, turning her attentions to a very meek Luffy "What the hell are you thinking? I don't want any orangehaired grandkids!"

"…We're not dating!" Nami protested (with Sanji chiming in with even more gusto).

"Damn straight you're not" Fran's words were both statement and order, one giant blunt command for the world to follow, _or else!_

"He's too young for travelling around with an army of women anyway!" she scolded her son again, pointing at Vivi and Rebecca with a rage filled finger.

"All of that hanky panky you must have done!"

"He haven't done anything like that!" several mouths protested, including Luffy's own (though he didn't know what the words meant)

"Really?" Fran asked, sounding even more disappointed than before "Eight women on your tub of a ship and you haven't managed to get with one? I knew you were an idiot when you couldn't spell you name when you were two months old, but I didn't know it was this bad!"

(Franky was on the verge of protesting about the "tub"-part, but wisely choose not to)

Then Fran grumbled something about Francis not telling her it was this bad, following up with a "Not even the Kuja? Those dumb birds don't know the first thing about men anyway, it should be childsplay!"

"The Kuja…" Vivi began, before Fran cut her off

"Royals don't have a say in my house, so can it!"

For a moment the room was silent, then Sanji made the mistake of both speaking and lighting a cigarette.

"Miss Fran-chan…" he started, blinking at the seated woman a charming smile playing on his lips "What Vivi-cha-AAAAAH!" he screamed as he saw that Fran had crossed the room and was literally browbeating him into submission

"I said: Royals. Don't. have. a say. In. my. House. Got it **Vinsmoke**?"

Sanji could only shiver and nod as the shorter woman yanked the smoke out of his mouth "And none of that crap here!" she shook the cigarette in front of his face, spilling ashes everywhere " **This is a PIPE-HOUSE**!" she snarled at the chef, using the smoke to light her own pipe, before butting it on her eyeball and sitting down again, puffing out some of the stink that permeated the room.

"Miss Fran, please have some tea, it'll cool your nerves" they guide eventually pleaded, while she placed a steaming cup infron to of Fran and handed out cups to the rest of the table.

Scoffing, Fran didn't move.

Luffy took his cup and downed it nervously, his trembling causing a few drops land on the table

"Oh I'll get those.." the guide began, not seeing Fran grab hold on her own skirt "No need I got it"

Before the guide could stop her, their host wiped the table with the hem.

Both Luffy and the Guide looked mortified at the act, before both dived to the side.

A moment later, with an ear shattering roar

the room burst into flames!

* * *

 **(On the main island, in a lavish hotel suite)**

Galette concentrated and the clumps of butter began to swirl in the bowl on the table.

Quickly forming a small whirlpool, the liquid butter levitated and formed a circle.

Satisfied, Galette steadied her breath and formed it into a disc.

"Hey Babe"

The sudden interruption made her crack the bowl.

Looking angrily at Dacquise, Galette had a hard time not screaming "What?"

The bat-winged man smiled at her, ignoring both her tone and the broken bowl "I was just thinking about how you were doing, after having been Strawhats prisoner is all, and listening to that mean ghost guy insult you like that…" he tried to pat her hand, which she pulled away swiftly.

"I'm fine! Would you please leave?"

"Sure" he smiled haughtily, which Galette could only assume was his attempt at seduction "I just wanted to tell you: I'd never allow that sort of thing to happen to my dame"

Gritting her teeth at his words, Galette forced herself to not kill the man "Go make sure Durum isn't messing up his guard duty" a stern voice said from behind the man. As he moved away, Amande became visible, striding towards her sibling.

As the man left, Galette felt nauseous as he pursed his lips at her.

Amande sighed and removed her hat "sorry about that" she sat down "I had stationed him at the window with Blondie, but he snuck away…"

"A creep to the core"

"Yeah…" the third daughter of Big mom agreed, while looking at the shards and butter "What were you practicing here? Some new technique?"

"Yeah… I figured I could at least use the time productively" Galette smiled "What about you? Done sharpening your sword?"

"It doesn't need sharpening, it hasn't been used as much as I'd like"

"Didn't you clash with that greenhaired guy?" Galette asked her sister, only receiving a scoff in response

"it's not enough to dull my blade, besides, if we'd fought for real, he'd be dead, slow cuts and slow certain death"

"As you're wont to say" Galette said, pouring her sibling a drink

"Just my luck, when something exciting finally happens, it's over far too quickly"

"Yeah, you've never liked when things happened fast, or people who were like that any way"

Blowing a smokering, Amande raised an eyebrow "If I didn't know you, I'd say that was a double entendre"

"Gods forbid I start making those" the sisters chuckled, getting some of the tenseness out of the way.

"You heard anything from Effilée or Hachée lately?"

"Not directly, but Sister Smoothie said that Effilée wants to spend more time with her husband, while Hachée is getting swamped with work" she blew another smokering "Pretty understandable I guess"

"That Effilée is pining for love or Hachée is overburdened?" Galette asked, thinking of Amande's two younger full sisters. Either had their strengths, but neither were anywhere near Amande's.

"both I guess" Amande answered absentmindedly leaning her head back on the chair

"And you're envious of both?" Galette asked with a lopsided grin, hoping to have a small laugh at her sisters' expense

"Work would be nice…. And I've… gone without a husband for too long anyway"

"So you'd like to settle down? Did the green haired man have an impact after all?"

"Don't kid yourself" Amande scoffed, but then she smiled "A man that needs three swords for fighting is clearly overcompensating for something"

After the pair had stopped cackling (and making the men within earshot slightly suspicious) Galette got serious "But you would really like a husband huh? Any type you got in mind?"

"Strong and serious…" Amande confided "one who knows where he's going…"

"Well that leaves out the green haired guy again" Galette snickered "Did you see where he went when Jinbe screamed: " _Get to the harbour_?""

"The sewer!" Amande chortled "He even argued that it _was a natural place for water to go_!" Amande mimicked Zoro's voice

"Goodness he's almost as dumb as Durum!"

"Is this the point where we feel sorry for Strawhat?"

"NO!" both said in unison laughing out loud (if Zoro had heard them, he'd have attacked them immediately (if it was Sanji; he'd have joined in the mockery, enemies or not (Naturally, he'd have joined them on the sole basis of being women)))

"Excuse me" a voice came from the side

"What is it Hangan?" Amande demanded, her seriousness returning at the sight of the snakeneck pirate.

"Before communications were cut, your brother Brownie reported that the Strawhats are still somewhere on Runny Rum, but also that they've split up: Jinbe and the Pirate Hunter are in hiding on the main island somewhere, while the rest of the crew has disappeared to one of the other islands.

"They're searching for something of Coyle's…." Galette concluded "Some sort of relation of his… perhaps we can use that to our advantage"

"Like what?" Amande scoffed "The man is long dead"

"True, but if he left behind some of those fruits in his journal…" Galette trailed off with a smile, which her older sister almost immediately mirrored

"Then we can get our hands on them, Imagine what Mama'd give for the Goro Goro no mi? Or that Chaos fruit?"

"And if we find Strawhat in the meantime… we might as well just make him hand over the princesses to us too…" Galette smiled "That little crew can't handle all those women anyway…"

"So it's in their best interests…" Amande cooed playfully, and both women smiled again, before ordering one of their subordinates to open a good bottle and send Hangan out to search for Jinbe and the strawhat swordsman.

* * *

 **(On Dvorak)**

As the initial shock of seeing the livingroom burst into flames began to recede, Nami was surprised to hear Fran simply mutter "Stupid weather as always".

As Franky and the guide rushed to extinguish the fire, Nami checked up on the others: Usopp was busy hiding outside the building, Rebecca and Vivi not far behind him, while Sanji was _protecting_ the two Kuja under Choppers panicky care (while shielding someone with your own body was very touching, it didn't help that Sanji was almost burying his face in their chests).

Luffy looked like he always did after hearing…. _That sound_. Nami got a little nervous each time she saw it. Fran reacted differently however, bursting into a fit of laughter.

"Kushishishishishi! You haven't changed at all, 16 years and you're still afraid of a little weather babble! Kushishishi!"

Luffy eyed her with confusion.

Nami looked at the woman with wide eyes, an idea forming in her mind, several in fact.

"Miss Fran…" Nami said , while walking to Luffy's side, blocking his ears "I'm sorry for asking, but does the sound _Gushishisshi_ mean anything to you?"

"How the hell do you know how I used to laugh?" Fran said, her pipe smoking more than a chimney in winter "You do magic? And stop fondling my son in front of me!"

"Just a hunch…" Nami responded as she quickly let go of Luffy's head "I also assume you used to laugh like that every time… _this_ sort of thing happened" she pointed at the still smouldering table.

"Sure did, good times…" the woman snickered, her mood improving "I remember one time when I was cleaning the windows and this typhoo…" Fran stopped as soon as the whole building began to shiver and creak "Hmpf" she scoffed "Must be the construction" waving her pipe at the walls, the vibrations still shaking them.

 _No way that's the weather_ Nami thought as she began to understand why Luffy was so afraid of his mothers' laughter, she was starting to get the same feeling, which was shared with their guide (accentuated after Nami gave her the " _is it/she like this every day_?"-look, receiving an energetic nod in return).

But there was still something that was missing.

How did Coyle know about Fran?

"You wouldn't happen to know a person named Coyle at some point? Kinda… boring looking person, male…" Nami tried, but Fran just tilted her head at the question.

"Croyle? Sounds like you don't know how to say _broil_ girl"

" _Coyle_ " Nami gently corrected her "Are you certain? We spoke with… we read his journal" Nami quickly lied, doubting Fran would believe their story about the museum and Coyle echo ghost, it still seemed farfetched to Nami that it had happened at all (then again, she did travel around with a walking, singing and flatulent skeleton, so nothing was really off limits anymore).

"Coyle…..Coyle…." Fran mumbled as she rubbed her chin, suddenly rising from the seat "I'll be right back" as she left the room, she called out a final order " _If Luffy tries to run: Chain him up_!"

Nami gave Luffy an empathic look, no doubt in her mind that he was too terrified of his mother to try and flee, or anything else for that matter. Nami had half a mind to do it herself, especially if Fran somehow caused another disaster, _how the heck did she do that anyway?_ Though that question burned in Nami's mind, she could see where some of Luffy's skills at manual labour had come from. But this was too much!

Then Fran returned, carrying a large tome.

"Ok, If it isn't in one of Francis' books…" she let the tome slam onto the table (the already much abused furniture creaking in protest) "…I don't know where else it possibly could be!"

Flapping through the pages, Fran didn't look happy "Damn him, no pictures! Only old wanted posters, as if that's something to be proud of!" carelessly tossing the old paper on the table, she continued to look, grumbling under her breath about this and that.

Nami caught some of the ancient paper, so old it had lost any white that might have been, in favour of a murky brown, but nonetheless the script and picture upon it was still recognisable.

The picture was of a smiling Coyle, holding up an even older wanted poster of his, showing he was worth 5 million Beli…. (the newer one read 8 million) although it was the writing that truly filled Nami's head with questions:

 _To Fran, my little deadly hazard, told you I was moving up in the world!_

"Fran…" Nami began, quickly regretting it as their host gave her a sharp look "Miss Fran"

" _Mrs. Fran_ Dummy, I recall marrying his dad-" she pointed at a still trembling Luffy "-quite clearly, even if he doesn't show up as much as he should, lousy lazy deadbe…" Fran mumbled on angrily, allowing Nami to formulate a better question.

"Mrs. Fran, what was your maiden name?"

"I didn't take my husbands' name, name's still _Isle D. Francesca_ and that'll remain until I croak! Damned If I take the name of some dumb animal… Unlike others I could name…" she finished with a sulky and annoyed tone, a bit of her beginning to lose patience at the everchanging questions.

 _Ok, I.F. has been found…_ Nami thought, before she showed Fran the wanted poster, hoping Fran wouldn't snap at her too much "And this is?..."

"Francis" Fran responded with a deadpan expression, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Are you sure Mrs. Fran?" (Nami hadn't yet found the courage to question the Francesca-bit)

"I could recognise Francis in a sandstorm at night, **dat's him** " Fran punctuated her statement with a hard tap at the poster "What the hell is this about?"

"But that's Coyle isn't it?" both women turned to Luffy, pointing at the paper with a confused look on his face.

Not for the first time, Fran looked like she was going to hit her son (and that tome did look pretty heavy), but instead she merely growled at him (much to his relief).

"I must have told you about him a thousand times…." the glare she sent him was almost a physical force, making the Strawhat captain try and shrink away from his mothers' gaze "But of course you forget…." She added in a condescending tone, before she took the ancient poster and slammed it down on the table, sounding more and more outraged by the second, sneering all the way "I suppose you forgot about Fortunato and Fernando too? Well not that those two matters anyway…" Fran continued with a snarl, before she began to angrily grumble about: "Stupid, worthless, double-crossing, scheming, lowlife, ruffian, degenerate, greedy, arrogant, scumbag, rotten, weasels, trashy, heartless, ratty sons-of-bi…" her face almost emanating smouldering darkness throughout her vigorous rant. Nami could imagine a volcano that was about to erupt.

"Mrs. Fran" Nami interrupted her, earning her a (thankfully only) annoyed glance "We don't know who Francis is, please tell us…"

Luffy's mother tapped an impatient finger on the paper, energetically puffing on her pipe as if she was trying to fill the room with choking smoke, her words giving the room (only those that hadn't put two and two together by now, Which was Luffy, Chopper, Carrot and Franky) a thorough surprise.

"That's _Isle D. Francisco_ " she punctuated each syllable with a hard tap down on the yellowed paper "Francis to family"

Folding her arms at the nervous audience, a small vein started to twitch in Frans' forehead, just as she took a long puff on her pipe, only to exhale it a small cloud of dark smoke, the colour seemingly reflecting her overall mood.

"Now tell me: What the heck do you lot…" Fran said, as she waved a hand at the guest in her livingroom, as if she was trying to swat away some particularly vexing flies "…Want with my Big Brother?!"

* * *

 **End of chapter**

Sorry for not updating for 2 months, but I've been busy with a lot of other projects and haven't found the time to write as much as I'd like.

I lost patience a bit, so I split this chapter up, so I could at least deliver something before Yule, which also means that I'll upload chapter 19 soon.

A weeks waiting at most, if everything goes according to plan.

RnR if you'd be so kind


	18. Chapter 18: The Isle D Family

**Chapter 18:**

 **The Isle D family - they're not easy to deal with  
**

* * *

 **(On the main island of Runny Rum, a tavern)**

Whitey ducked underneath another thrown chair, hearing it crash against the wall and showering her and her underlings in splinters, dust and debris.

"Come out and play Whitey!" Amadob roared furiously from somewhere on the other side of the flipped table "I know you talked to them! You warned those good for nothing, snivelling Strawhat babies, _didn't you_?!"

Whitey pouted a little behind the makeshift barricade. If it hadn't been because she was one of the warring parties, she'd have used the time to pour herself a drink (preferably one in a tall glass with bright colours and a little happy umbrella (even better if served by a shirtless hottie with a bowtie)).

"And so what if I did? They haven't done me anything" she called back as she ripped a sleeve off her underling for a makeshift bandage.

"They lazed around when we fought Blackbeard! Some brother that little turd were for Ace!" Amadob continued to shout, his rage more akin to that of a volcano than a man's.

 _Not good_ Whitey thought, _if that idiot bruiser keeps shouting like a madman, he'll alert the marines, and I don't want my vacation to turn into a freaking circus!_

While Whitey had promised to help the Strawhats (admittedly on a whim), she hadn't intended for it to be immediately, and even if she'd just made some friendly chatting with Jinbe, Amadob had to be a jerk about it! And because of that, a perfectly good tavern had paid the prize: Marineford had been littered with less beaten bodies and broken furniture! (the majority of the fallen had been dead afterall) Most of her crew present had been hammered down, beaten to a pulp, save herself and a few others who still held their ground against their opponent (albeit behind a barricade).

Amadob in turn, had simply left his men outside (Which was embarrassing for Whitey's pride to be honest, it almost hurt as much as seeing her friends get beaten like this).

"I'm going to say this once Amadob: **STOP YOUR FREAKING TANTRUM, OR I'M GOING TO** **FLOOR** **YOU!"**

A moment passed, then her former ally and colleague responded with a sound of thunder stuck in a bucket, which she could only recognise it as mocking laughter. _He wasn't taking her seriously at all!_

She wasn't surprised when Amadob then started to shoot at their cover, filling the tavern with the snaps of his dual-pistols and blowing big holes in the table, splinters flying left and right, like little wooden shrapnel.

Much to Whitey's relief, it didn't appear anyone had been hit, yet. Her crew still needed to get to a doctor though, especially the ones her loud and rambunctious colleague had smashed into (and through!) the brick wall.

Drawing her rapier, she hoped to finish this as soon as possible, though she didn't fancy killing a former ally, but when he was like _this_ , she was certain she could live with it. And that their other old friends would understand, eventually.

The sound of the door bursting open, literally snapping off its' hinges and slamming into to opposing wall, made her stop.

 _Crap, it's the marines!_

When no shouting was heard, at least beside the angry outburst of Amadob, Whitey reconsidered.

Marines liked to shout about justice or scream " _Stop where you are_!" and such other nonsense whenever and whereever they went, but the newcomers, they were silent,

and it irked her.

A bunch of shot were fired, which she assumed was by Amadob.

Not cries of pain were heard, only small cracks and the ting of bullets feebly hitting the ground.

Then battle erupted.

A bunch of blows were dealt in swift succession, odd hollow thuds, and by a strange muffled, yet obviously mortified screaming, which sometimes sounded like it came from pain rather than fear (or a heavy mixture of both).

Amadob grunted gruffly, shouted and cried out in protest, which evaporated the last of Whitey's reluctance and made her curiosity win. She turned and took a peek out from behind the cover.

What she saw surprised her.

In the middle of the room, Amadob had been forced to his knees, arms crossed above his curly maned head in a feeble attempt to avoid being pummelled to the ground by a large cloaked figure, towering over the crowned rotund man and only armed with a huge solid bottle…

with a screaming face in it!

Amadob had become practically defenceless against the onslaught of blows that rained down on him relentlessly, each strike sending him further to his knees, leaving him in more pain and bruises than was normal for a battle, making the whole scene resemble a torture session more than a skirmish. It was enough for Whitey to feel a tad sympathy for him, yet not as much as whatever was trapped in the bottle.

Whatever it was was slammed into the sides of the glass with each blow. If the figure had pummelled the two people with each other, the result would've been the same.

When at last she realised it was the face of Caesar Clown, battered, beaten and bruised from being slammed into the inside of the bottle, that pity quickly evaporated.

 _Slimy dirtbag…_ Whitey thought, knowing the scientist by both vile reputation and handiwork, _But who the heck was the new guy?_

Finally stomping down a heavy foot on Amadobs' face and knocking his lights out, the figure turned towards her, making a chill run down the length of her spine. Meeting someone clad in a black huge coat and heavy hood that revealed nothing had that effect on jittery people. But Whitey wasn't a scaredycat, she was a veteran of the Grand Line. On the other hand, the person had just beaten another veteran to a pulp in no time at all. That was cause for concern.

That... and something about the person before her... felt _wrong._

Not unnatural, but she could feel danger emanating off the man like heat from the sun.

"Whitey Bay…" the figure began with a voice like gravel shattering and being ground to dust, pointing at her with the huge bottle, Caesar still moaning within, tears streaming from the mad scientists' face forming a small lake pink lake at the bottom of the flask, which his face inevitably ended up in "…you apparently had a chat with that imbecile to Strawhat… I'd like to know about what?"

As polite as the tone managed to be, it did nothing to make the deep voice sound any less threatening, especially when Caesar started to complain, and the figure shook the bottle vigorously, turning the scientist into a giant makeshift-maracas (and emit a cacophony of thuds and screams and the occasional squick).

It only stopped when the scumbag within had lost consciousness (in fact 5-6 blows after that).

"We just got acquainted… didn't really have much time for that at Marineford…" Whitey smiled disarmingly at the figure (as much as she was able to, given the circumstances), while she motioned for her men behind her to get their wounded, and fast, the figure was unlikely to be stalled for long,

she was terribly right.

"No, that is not it" the figure began, voice slow and more certain than the passage of time "Your man Bering said you'd spoken with them" his deep rumbling tone made an almost unnatural shiver run down Whitey's back.

"If you've harmed him!" she threatened, anger rising, the same with the gnawing feeling in the pit of her stomach.

The figure didn't even change its' tone: "You will tell me"

Whitey knew, despite her reluctance, that he'd be right eventually

While his words carried no threats,

It was worse than that:

It was a **statement.**

Once she'd heard Whitebeard speak with the same level of gravity and finality, back when he had said his crew would attack Marineford and the rest of his allies were going to help him do it. Though that also applied to anything else, the man had said, when he was being serious.

But even as she drew her sword and charged at the newcomer, she smiled at the thought that he hadn't specified _when_ she'd tell him.

And she was determined not to go down without a fight!

* * *

 **(On Dvorak)**

Nami slipped out of the house, leaving the crew inside.

As soon as she'd been informed about Rindo and Marguerite being Coyle's daughters and what they needed to cure them, Fran had immediately allowed Chopper to draw the blood he needed for a cure (albeit reluctantly, not being too keen on letting _lunch_ have medical equipment). The little reindeer had gone to work immediately, leaving the others to try come to terms with the new development.

Luffy had taken up a seat next to the kuja after hearing they were his cousins (and having a drooling Sanji explain the unfamiliar concept, which was boiled down to brothers-but-not-that-close-and-women for convenience) watching over them like a henmother (albeit an insanely dangerous rubber-pirate henmother!). Nami figured that he might be trying to make up for not being able to save Ace, and not having been there for Sabo for years. It was a quite pleasant theory really.

As for the rest of the crew: Usopp had had to be pried off the foundation and taken inside, which left Franky to be the only cyborg for the job. Sanji had joined their guide alongside Carrot (who'd be out Garchuing the entire island, if it didn't scare off the locals), Vivi and Rebecca, helping them cook up some dinner.

Fran had disappeared out of the room without anyone noticing.

Except for Nami that is.

The navigator found their host on the porch, sitting in her chair, resting, pipe held still in her mouth, blowing off a mix of embers and smoke.

 _Figures, donating that much blood would make anyone tired…_ Nami thought as she approached Luffy's mother.

The darkhaired woman had gone uncharacteristically silent after meeting her nieces. _It's a lot to take in… meeting your son after years apart, being told your dead brother had two daughters and they're both dying too._

Nami didn't know what that felt like, but she knew it wasn't something to be left alone with.

 _And who knows… perhaps it'll soften the hardcase up a little…_ though Nami knew that would be wistful thinking the moment Fran discovered her, her voice tough and rough as stone "What you want?"

"Just checking up on you mrs. Fran" Nami sighed "You looked rather shaken after the whole thing… especially after you hit Luffy because you thought he'd tried flirting with them"

"I thought you'd be more concerned about what I told that blonde princey boy?"

"Sanji needs to lay off the flirting anyway" Nami responded with a wave of her hand and a small laugh, making a small smile creep over Fran's stone features (It hadn't been there when Fran said she'd forcefeed the chef his own legs seasoned with pipe ashes if he continued looking at her nieces with that lecherous smile on his face).

"I'm fine, just pissed"

"Why? Your son is home, you've met your nieces and helped save their lives…" Nami trailed off, hoping the woman would open up and fill the gaps

"Yeah and soon all three are going out the door again!" Fran scoffed, puffing angrily on her pipe and looking at the village in the afternoon sun.

"You don't' like being left alone" Nami concluded, starting to understand why Fran was so angry all the time "Do you?"

"Francis always left for this trip and that, we never knew if he'd come home or not…" Fran responded gruffly, with more than a hint of bitterness "It was bad when Dragon left too, especially since he said he'd be back in a few years…" she reminisced "And then Garp came along all of a sudden and took Luffy away, babbled about it not being safe for him with me…"

(internally Nami nodded enthusiastically, for once thinking of Garp as somewhat responsible)

"…and then I didn't see Luffy for 16 years! I got really concerned when I was shown that article about Marineford too!" Fran finished with a heavy sigh "And now I got two nieces that're at deaths' door!" Fran raised her arms in frustration "Francis never told me about 'em either! **This sucks!** "

"I see what you mean…. But... I think it's nice to see that you know you can't keep Luffy down…" Nami consoled her, though it didn't have the desired effect.

"I must've been told that he'd go back out on some stupid adventure a dozen different times…." Fran trailed off, lost in thought.

Nami chose not to interrupt her, even if she was starting to wonder where Fran got her info from.

"How about we go back in? I'm sure you'd like to get to know your nieces"

"I guess that wouldn't be too bad…" the woman responded with a sigh and a small smile playing on her lips, her brown eyes having an introspective look to them, then she turned to Nami with a raised eyebrow, her tone getting it's old forceful edge back, but having a inquisitive side too "How're they like anyway?"

"I…" Nami halted slightly, not sure if she should tell about Rindo's rigid stoicism, Marguerite's almost overwhelmingly chipper attitude, or the ignorance of both women, both on men or on the world outside their island ( _When Rind had_ _internally called Viola a witch for having a devil fruit_ or _when the pair had tried to bathe with Sanji and Viola_ being prime examples), something told Nami it'd be the men-part that Fran would be most annoyed by "…There's been so much going on, so I've barely had time to get to know them myself" she answered sheepishly, having focussed more on reuniting with her old friends (Vivi and Shirahoshi) than getting to know all the new travelling companions closely (her chat with Viola had scared her a bit off from trying to do that, lest she incite another confrontation between their guests).

"Well that's not good" Fran scoffed, blowing a mighty cone of smoke out the side of her mouth.

"It's really not so bad…" Nami began

"Of Course it is!" Fran interrupted her, almost jumping up from the chair "If those two can't make an impact, there's something wrong! Gotta teach those two how to be women!"

Frans' outburst somehow fell rather flat as she tripped, overbalanced and landed facefirst upon the porch with a resounding thud (and more than one curse on her lips).

"Perhaps you've donated too much blood Miss Fran" Nami suggested, extending a hand to Luffy's mother "How about we get some food in you?" She put one of Fran's arms over her shoulder and hoisted her up "I'm sure Sanji'll be happy to cook something for you"

"…that blondie Vinsmoke boy better not think I'll allow him near those two! They're way too young for that anyhow!"

"Sure, sure…" Nami cooed as she shouldered the woman inside, still mouthing off more than she should be capable of:

"And you better not get any ideas yourself" the middleaged woman continued " I don't want grandkids… yet!"

Nami could only sigh in response, the blush on her cheeks starting to feel permanent from all of Fran's rambling.

Though it was quickly replaced by worry, as she noticed that had gotten Fran a thoughtful expression on her face, her eyebrows furrowed in concentration, eyes growing unnaturally focussed and panicky, the sure signs of a person starting to realise something, something bad.

"Wait a minute…." The woman mumbled, one eyebrow quivering as the wheels in her head began to turn rapidly

" _Those three other girls_ might get ideas too!" She concluded, before she growled "Get me inside at once!"

Nami instantly pitied Vivi, Rebecca and Carrot, though a part of her felt relieved not having to bear the brunt of Frans' accusations.

* * *

 **(On the main island of Runny Rum Archipelago, down by the docks)**

Jinbe scowled as he emerged from the chilling water.

Finding Luffy and the rest of his crew would prove difficult after the split.

From what he could gather it was a usual recurrence, the crew getting separated to deal with enemies and defeat their opponents, and then meeting up by chance take down the boss or to celebrate their victory afterwards.

While that seemed like something that Luffy (and some of the more liberal crewmembers) would definitely do, the way Zoro-san had told it, it had made it seem that it was the others that got lost and not the swordsman.

Which was in stark contrast to what Jinbe'd had to endure on the way back, and indeed while they were fighting.

The swordsman didn't seem to have anything even remotely resembling a sense of direction, or even awareness of his own handicap, leaving him to attack all the wrong Yonko ships' the pair had been left to dispatch. The sheer destruction the man had caused, had been a somewhat mitigating factor, but not the part about wanting to slash up Brownie himself, and almost suceeding (the same couldn't be said about several of Big Mom's grunts or Chess Soldiers though).

If they somehow ended up killing one of her children, Jinbe didn't doubt that they'd be in for hell on earth. Or at least the closest they could get since Whitebeards' death. (Nevermind that Big Mom would be furious, all his siblings would be livid! And While Jinbe didn't consider himself or Zoro to be slouches, he could not for the life of him imagine that they'd survive a battle with Katakuri)

Zoro didn't seem to get that simple fact, but then again, he had no idea what it meant to see a Yonko angry! Jinbe on the other hand still had a nasty ache in his body from when him and Luffy had tried to get away from Big Mom when fleeing Tottoland. (authors note, that was in the previous Story: **Out of the Jaws of Death** )

"What you mean we _can't piss her off_?" the swordsman complained "You and Luffy did that not long ago, and you turned out fine! Even shitty eyebrows-chef survived!"

Jinbe envied him his ignorance. At Marineford, Whitebeard had been terrifying, and Jinbe hadn't even been facing him! Big Mom was an entirely different sort of beast.

"What sort of person is Big Mom in combat even?"

Taking a short breath, Jinbe pondered how he best answer the question, eventually going with animalistic metaphors "Like a cross between a rabies infected bloodhound, an furious elephant and horde of crazed kindergarteners"

Jinbe almost felt like slapping Zoro when he laughed at the description "I'd like to hear how you'd say about me then. What animal do you think I fight like?"

The fishmans' answer came instantly "A lemming"

* * *

 **(On Dvorak)**

"Speed it up chef-boy, people are waiting here!"

As soon as Fran had gotten to her seat at the end of the table, the matron of the house had started barking out orders left and right.

"Get a cloth on the table tinboy! Now set it! You, longnose, get the plates faster! Pink-hair, stop drooling over my son and do something useful!" The list went on…

The only ones that magically avoided being yelled at was Chopper, whom Fran apparently had begun to understand was necessary for her nieces' survival, and strangely (given her previous treatment of him) Luffy.

Nami was a bit envious that Luffy got to be sitting (in relative peace) at his cousins' sides (naturally, it went quadruple for Sanji, but at least he could cook alongside Vivi and Carrot so he kept his complaints to a minimum) perhaps Fran somehow, on a primal level (because Nami couldn't for the life of her imagine it to be anything else) understood that he wanted to watch over them.

"Orange-hair get those chairs!" Nami cringed a little at the woman's tone, _hadn't they just been having a moment outside?_

Apparently, Fran didn't think so, as the matron kept yapping at her to do this and that, far away from Luffy and somewhere Fran could keep a close eye on her every move. It was a less than subtle way to keep the two apart. Nami had given up trying to explain that she and Luffy weren't dating, especially after Fran had misunderstood and thought they'd gotten married instead! (Sanji's mortified wail still echoed out amongst the islands' hills, making more than one shepherd turn around in the evening air, thinking they were hearing things). Nami hadn't responded with joy either.

If the woman hadn't been weakened from the blood donation, Nami had no doubt she'd be pummelling Luffy into oblivion. And not for marrying someone his mother didn't approve of (which frankly seemed to be any female in sight), but because he'd have done it without her leave.

Fortunately for Luffy, that situation was hypothetical, even though neither he nor his mother seemed to understand the concept. (Fran kept referring to it as _hypocritical_ for starters)

It was touching in a way, to see Luffy acting responsibly for a change, looking over his bedridden cousins more attentively than Sanji did (when he wasn't looking at another woman of course) and making sure they kept their spirits up with nonsensical smalltalk.

When Vivi and Rebecca began to bring in the food, Luffy actually stayed put, only getting up when Fran demanded that he either "Plant his ass or go hungry" and even then, the rubberman was hesitating!

It was almost touching, if the sight wasn't also extremely unnerving for the crew, some more than others.

Luffy talking orders was one thing, but putting something before food was in the realm of _signs-of-the-apocalypse-stuff._

When Luffy finally sat down, Usopp actually breathed a sigh of relief and patted his heart to cool it down.

"Now… this feels weird…" Fran mused as she looked at the people seated around the table before her. Luffy to her side, Usopp next to him, Carrot, an empty chair for Chopper, Franky at the table end, then Rebecca, Vivi, Nami and finally a chair for Sanji much to his chargin (he'd initially reserved a seat between Rebecca and Vivi). The chef was still intimidated by Nami so he'd chosen to stay up to bring more food.

"How?" Usopp ventured, being one of the few that their host hadn't had reason to chewed out, gave him a bit of leniency

"it just… feels odd" was all their host could manage, leaning back in the chair having for once put down her pipe.

"I guess you're not used to having guests" Nami ventured, only earning her a look from Fran, _thank goodness for that bloodtransfusion_! Instantly ran through Nami's mind (And the distance between the two).

"That, and I've got two sick nieces on my couch!" Fran pointed at Rindo and Marguerite and then at Luffy "And my son, my stupid, forgetful, peabrained Pirate son…" she grumbled

"Technically….." a feeble voice came from the couches, causing the table to fall silent, Chopper moving out of the way to reveal Rindo looking towards the table with tired eyes, peeking up from beneath a red heavy blanket "…We're pirates too" she motioned a weak hand towards Marguerite, who gave a little smile at the mention of her name, similarly to her half-sister, she too was under wraps.

Nami surmised they served a dual purpose, warmth and shielding from any male gaze (who'd have known sweaty young female bodies in bikinis could draw that much attention) even though their aunts' presence should be enough to dissuade anyone from looking too intently at the pair, the rest of the women were fair game however, leaving Sanji to focus on Vivi, Rebecca or Carrot (he hadn't had the courage to look too closely at Nami, at least when she was watching).

"Is this family cursed? Everyone got a bounty on their heads…" Fran grumbled in disapproval as she rubbed her eyes.

"I don't' think they have a bounty mrs." Franky responded calmly "They're working under a Shichibukai so they should be super safe and sound from all that" the cyborg reassured her "Too bad it's part of the fun to get a new bounty" he ended wistfully, still peeved he hadn't hit the 100 million beli mark (Unlike Usopp who'd done it twice).

"…Which one?"

Even Luffy looked at Fran in surprise, it should be impossible to be that ignorant, but she managed it without a problem. Nami was starting to see where Luffy got some of his traits from.

"They're Hancocks' crew" the captain blurted out, unconcerned about his mother's potential reaction.

"And who's that?" his mother looked at him expectantly "And how the heck do you know him?"

"Luffy-san ended up on our island a while back" Marguerite added from the couch, a broad smile on her face "The queen got to be good friends with him Mrs. Fran"

"Awww, you don't have to call me that, call me aunt, or aunty…" Fran said with a smile, before the wheels in her head clicked "So this Hancock fella's a Queen eh?" Fran responded with puzzlement "I think Francis once told me of that place once… Momomiro-bo…island or something"

"NO! Not that hellhole!" Sanji responded with a shrill cry from the kitchen, before entering with his arms full of steaming bowls of food. The scent was enough to cause both Luffy and Fran to drool their eyes turn glassy at the sight.

" _Amazon Lily,_ the island of _**women**_!" the chef droned on happily, hearts for eyes while he imagined the place "Led by the most beautiful woman of them all!"

"Boa Hancock" both of the Kuja chimed in with a mixture of pride, adoration and reverence, Marguerite looking particularly proud and happy at saying the name "the strongest woman in our tribe"

Nami had heard it all before, either from Sanji or from the two Kuja (or somewhere else, the woman was world famous after all, even Weatheria had heard of her), She didn't recall at this point. The tone of the two bedridden women had improved significantly, it was almost as if they'd been cured by simply thinking of their leader.

"You cult members?"

Naturally both Kuja were shocked at their aunts' question, staring at her aghast, while Fran looked inquisitively back at them from her seat. If the weight of the blankets hadn't been holding them down (if not Chopper could've stepped in), Nami was sure they'd have assaulted their clueless aunt.

"Hey how was their dad like anyway? You knew him, you got to be able to tell something right?"

Nami looked at Luffy, had the numbskull suddenly become able to sense the mood?

The look on his face told her no, he was as oblivious and inquisitive as always (never mind he'd met Coyle's echo and his question was therefore utterly redundant, the man had practically been as chaotic as any adventure the crew had stumbled into).

But as Fran began to regale with tales of Francis' youth, Nami concluded that Luffy was also as lucky as ever, though it was perhaps the first instance where his mother was involved.

"… so when Francis didn't want to follow in fathers' footsteps either, he went off to sea, fourteen years old! Father and mother were furious! It stopped when he began to send money back half a year later though, father didn't like working that much anyway, and mother had gambling debts to pay…"

Fran spoke about how Francis had sent back letters and weird object for years, mesmerising her audience with odd stories, a surprising amount of wealth or exotic objects from even odder lands, all of which were supported by a plethora of letters and photographs Fran had received from her brother when he was out at seas. Most of them depicted valuable objects and exotic faraway places (including one from Tottoland, Fishman Island and a place that could only be Kamabakka kingdom, given Sanji's strong response), but a fair number showed Francis smiling and waving either holding some sort of treasure, a devilfruit or with a backdrop of some idyllic place, looking like a man without a care in the world, and in a peculiar set of different outfits (more than one including an over-the-top afro).

Nami did look them all over (especially the ones with gold or mention of treasure) and, despite Coyles', or Francis', flippant attitude towards them when they'd met his echo, did he appear to have a caring side, he'd sent all those letters to his little sister afterall, for years without fail. Thinking of that, made Nami understand how Fran could treat Luffy the way she did, never hearing about how he was for years on end and then find out he'd gotten wanted by the World Government (and a plethora of other things!). Nami mentally slapped herself for not writing to Nojiko back home either, she really had to look into that soon. The same went for the rest of the crew too. Usopp had Kaya and those three boys back on his home island, Sanji the Baratie, Franky his old friends in Water 7…

Nami snapped out of it just as Fran prattled happily about Francis coming home to visit the family make sure they were okay before he set out on his next run, but her words and mood turned from sparkles and confetti, to cold ashes in an instant: "And then one day… he didn't come back…"

The navigator almost couldn't believe her eyes as Luffy's mother looked down at the table, speaking in low tone, her words strangely brittle. To Nami, it felt like Fran was reciting a-a rumour, so much hiding in the darkness and shadows on some amazing past filled with danger, daring, adventure and ultimately tragedy. The sounds of a legendary and long abandoned dungeon given voice and soul and heart.

The second Sanji put down food in front of her however, Fran smirked and forgot all about her stories.

Naturally Luffy followed suit a moment later grabbing a juicy steak from his overflowing plate (Sanji knew (along with everybody else) what Luffy would be screaming for within 3 seconds) towards his waiting maw.

When it was halfway in, His mother started to complain, stopping him in his tracks

"What the hell are you doing? Use a fork you dunderhead!"

It was a bit scary to see Luffy take food out of his mouth and put a fork in the meat before resuming to eat it. What was really terrifying was to see him obey any one!

"Honestly…" Fran sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose "What manners did I ever teach you?"

Luffy looked down in shame, a lip stuck out at his mothers' words.

Then his head shot up angrily

"Hey, stop taking my food!"

"Why?" Fran responded after she swallowed half a slap of meat "I'm hungry!" another steak disappeared from Luffy's plate and down her gullet "Don't complain just because you're not fast enough!"

This time Luffy managed to remove his plate so Fran couldn't steal more food.

"Hold Still!" Fran commanded as she tried to skewer another morsel on her fork.

"You got your own plate!"

"That's my plate too dummy! I paid for 'em!"

"I'm starting to see the resemblance…"

Both captain and his mother looked at Vivi, making the princess blush after realising she'd spoken out loud. Rebecca was snickering next to her, holding a hand over her mouth to hide her mirth. Nami noted that the pinkhaired girl luckily hadn't attracted their hosts' attention, which was divided between the bluenette, her son and the food she was still trying to snatch.

"What you mean bluehair?" evidently, Fran hadn't' bothered to learn all of their names, which was as infuriating as oddly endearing.

Vivi's hands rose up, trying feebly to avoid the lady of the house having anther violent episode "you just…" She began, which to Nami was Vivi's second mistake (the first was to open her mouth in the first place, Fran might've gotten more lenient with the whole _royals don't talk in my house_ after the bloodtransfusion, but it was still risky business, Sanji only got a pass because he was cooking) "…act a lot alike when eating dinner…"

After giving her another look, Fran raised an eyebrow and asked aloud "…. Why've you had a dinner with my boy? You two dating? I don't want grandkids that I share with some kingtype"

After many exasperated gasps, looks, stares and jaw dropping (and laughter, Franky and Usopp couldn't control themselves) Vivi tried to defend herself, arguing that it wasn't like that and Luffy wasn't the type to do that anyway. Fran was not convinced in the least:

"How can you be so sure if you haven't tried to inebriate something?"

While Nami closed her eyes (nevermind Fran's gross misuse of slightly long words), trying to block out the barrage of voices that inevitably begun to rise after this minor exchange: Sanji led the charge by alternating between denying that anything had happened between Luffy and Vivi (or anyone for that matter (Fran didn't believe him) as Luffy wasn't _romantically sentient_ ), trying to distract their host with more meat on her plate or giving Vivi compliments (which quickly extended to the rest of ladies in the room as well). Rebecca also joined in, being personally slighted after Frans' aversion to _having royalty as in-laws_. Luffy was looking back and forth from his mother to his friends, not sure if he was the one being yelled at and seemingly a bit afraid that Fran would hit him again (there also remained the distinct possibility that he was wondering what _romance_ was and what grandkids had to do with his food). At this point the only ones seemingly able to enjoy their food was Franky and Usopp, since neither of them were daft enough to raise their voices in the middle of the cacophony that had filled the room.

In the end Sanji managed to convince their host that it had been a banquet and they had all been present (sans Franky and Carrot neither of whom had joined the crew at the time (and to Sanji's chagrin Zoro had been there too (Nami was too tired of it all to wonder why Fran didn't ask about Zoro's gender))).

After this the meal cooled down a little, allowing Nami to sneak a quick glance at Chopper.

The little reindeer was starting to twitch a little after the exchange at the table, but otherwise he was fast at work with his patients, administering this and that medicament while taking their temperature and heartbeat.

As she turned back to her own plate, she hoped there wouldn't be anymore troubles in the small house.

* * *

 **(On the main Island** ** **of Runny Rum Archipelago** , within the Marine Base)**

Gion pinched the bridge of her nose breathing slowly to try and bring her temper under control.

Aside from the usual two dozen reports she had to With a number of pirate crews, one of them belonging to a Yonko and another being led by a member of the worst generation, which not only had managed to get their hands on the missing princesses (of all things!) but also begun to search for something of Coyle's (perhaps the most wretched smuggler on the seas), the last thing Gion needed was to deal with a royal family.

Specifically when the royal family in question, was the Vinsmokes of Germa Kingdom.

Every single higher up in the marines knew that the stories about them were true, that they were the leaders of the underground mercenary army called Germa 66. That their king was once the helper of Dr. Vegapunk and thus privy to a thousand different secrets, none of which were safe in the hands of anyone! That they were about as trustworthy as a clowder of alleycats!

In all those regards they were scarcely above pirates (especially given Buggy of the Shichibukai's business) so to deal with the heir apparent of the kingdom was a challenge in and of itself.

That the redhaired prince was also an utter twat to boot, didn't help her mood in the slightest. (No one could ignore, that he paid more attention to her chest or legs than to what she said)

"So you see miss vice-admiral…" the prince continued his lengthy introduction, which GIon hoped was at an end soon "We just can't let this sort of situation stand!"

The whole rant of Prince Ichiji had unleashed on her could be summarized with:

1\. We want the missing princesses and we know Strawhat has them (because of reasons).

2\. On the way someone angered us, we're still mad about it, but are willing to let someone else pay for it (Strawhat fits the bill, or you if you don't hurry up).

3\. You're kinda in the way here lil' miss marine (It'll definitely be you, if you don't obey everything I say).

"The communications blockade will be kept in place, Prince Ichiji" she replied as calmly as possible, trying out her diplomatic tone (which sounded more like she was tired than anything else)

The smile of the princes' face fell instantly "Oi, I just told you that…"

"Yes, I was paying attention" Gion interrupted him, causing a vein to bulge in the princes' forehead, but she carried on anyway "The marines cannot and will not step aside for the Kingdom of Germa to conduct their own operations"

"I'm talking here!" the prince continued protesting, but to no avail

"The marines duty is to maintain justice and uphold the law, naturally saving Princesss Vivi and the three other girls from the Strawhat crew falls under that" Although after having shortly spoken to Princess Viola, it didn't seem to Gion that they were in any hurry to get saved "It is our duty to do this, we will not step aside and the information blockade will be kept in place"

She noted with a tad of satisfaction that the prince was too incensed to respond, his anger forming a small halo around his body.

"That being said, naturally we would accept any help that Germa can provide…" Gions' words, though cordial (to an extent) carried the note that the marines could just as well seize the military that Ichiji had brought along with him.

From the way he was gnashing his teeth, Gion saw that he got the message. Germa Kingdom and the Vinsmokes were the black sheep of the World Government, so Gion didn't doubt she could boss the little princeling around, at least beneath a cloak of politeness.

The red haired fob didn't respond, only seething away, a stove of a man.

"If there's nothing else, I'll have Commodore Durkey show you out" She motioned to the weasly looking marine in his green suit. The one thing that so far seemed to be going according to plan that day, was that he was moving wiht surprising eagerness to the side of the prince.

As the small delegation left the room, Gion once again thought about what Coyle's echo had said … _Face it girly, you may have eaten a fruit, but you know nothing about its' potential_ ….(authors note: see chapter 16) The memory made her grit her teeth, it was true her devil fruit was more beautiful than most, but it lacked somewhat in offensive abilities, which had made her appear more like a figurehead to the marines under her command or the people under her protection, than a frontline fighter, like the way she had gained her rank…

… _the Hasu-Hasu is more than a few pretty petals in the air…_ Coyles' words shot through her mind again, clear as a whistle, and with the power of a foghorn.

She knew he'd been baiting her at that time, just like Big Moms' daughters had been, but those exact words the smuggler had used haunted her more than anything.

What was her fruits' potential, and just why hadn't Coyle written more about it?

Had he written a more extensive journal about his findings?

And if so where was it?

From Director Falco, she knew that Coyle had a relative on one of the islands of the archipelago, could the journal be with them? Or some of Coyle's lost treasures?

And what about that relative anyway? What would they be able to give the Strawhats, if the pirates found them?

Or, since his journal spoke of this _**The Radiant one**_ ( _whatever that was?!_ ) wouldn't be pleased with it, had it been a thought that he'd never gotten around to write down? Or had he given his findings over to that entity (or cult, organistation or whatever)?

She eventually forced her thousands of questions aside and focussed on planning to locate and capture the Strawhats. One question she did have the answer for, were what the strawhats needed the relative for, a bloodtransfusion so Coyle's daughters could be saved, Falco had told her as much, though he couldn't provide information on whom the daughters were. Even though Gion didn't know how the Strawhats had encountered them, or how many they were, it did warm her heart to know that that pirate crew weren't all bad. It reminded her a little about the Red Hair crew in fact.

Later,

when thinking of her _chat_ with Vinsmoke,

Gion would regret not paying more attention to the present than pondering the past and future….

* * *

 **(On the Marine ship, The Vigilant Vanquisher, outside of Runny Rum waters)**

Viola Shivered and coughed.

Even in the warmth of the captains' cabin, the disease managed to give her chills.

Wrapping herself in a blue woollen, and wonderfully thick, blanket, Viola took comfort in the fact that she'd soon see her father again… and get a cure for that wretched disease!

Her company was not the worst either, The female rear Admiral Malta might not be the best conversationalist, but Viola could feel the honesty emanating off of her like light from a lamb.

The other person in the cabin, aside from the chef bringing in the warm refreshments, was Falco, or Falco-chan as she'd begun calling him. The mans' devotion to her, and indeed anyone in distress (as several poor fishermen they'd encountered on their voyage could attest), was both admirable and considering the times, refreshing.

Presently the three had been busy with talking about the state of the new world, the peculiar scribblings on the ships' hull (authors note: see chapter 3 for reference), Malta had made several remarks about how wrong it was for the (male) marines to frequent the Pleasure District and not only waste all of their money but also fraternize with villains, Falco speaking of the increased pirate activity in the last few years, while Viola herself championed the opinion, that the Shichibukai were an outdated and corrupt establishment.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the three agreed on all points (though Viola didn't see the wrong in men having a little fun once in a while, though it shouldn't be the kind of fun that was bought and sold like cattle).

A knock on the door interrupted their chatter however

"Enter" Malta called out

The marine did as told, bowing deeply for Viola and his superior officer (Nevermind he ignored Falco completely) "I'm sorry for disturbing you Rear Admiral, but the helmsman and navigator would like a word with you about the course"

After apologizing for her leave, Malta left Falco and Viola in the cosiness of the cabin.

Viola was silent for a moment, then deciding to address Falco on different matters than the world.

"Falco-chan, I'm most grateful that you've escorted me all this way…" She began, softening him up before getting to the point "But shouldn't you be organizing the restoration of your museum?"

Although he smiled Viola could guess from the small beads of sweat on his forehead that something made him nervous "Well, the curators and the other staff will go through all of the artifacts in the exhibit first and that shouldn't be too hard, nothing I need to worry about…"

"And yet you are" Viola let the question hang in the air, both allowing Falco to consider his answer and she to gauge his response (after her ordeal with Coyle, she'd opted not to read people's minds with her powers (deep in the back of her mind, Viola reckoned that that navigator was right too)).

"Well… I'm not certain, but…" the Director began, wiping his brow with a trembling hand before stuttering "…the Ho-ho-ho-hoodie fa-family won't be too ha-appy with what's happened to the…erhm… Smugglers wing…"

"The family of that Vice Admiral who defeated Coyle?" Viola ventured soothingly, patting the directors' hand gently "how angry can they get?"

Falco turned to her, face even paler than Violas own, his eyeswide and unfocussed "You have no idea!"

Looking down into his own lap the director explained "The family is deeply connected with the World Government, and very grateful to the late Vice Admiral for it" he continued barely pausing for breath "the whole wing is intended as a memento to his achievements…"

"Forgive me for saying so" Viola began, hoping no to upset him "But It looked more like a shrine to Coyle than to Hoodie"

To her surprise, Falco merely brushed it off "I wholeheartedly agree! And the previous director said exactly the same thing! But then… well I'm not completely certain, but allegedly the family representative almost tore off her ears afterwards" he shook his head sadly at the memory "Turns out the whole wing is designed to show however much a criminal do, they can't defeat a marine! Build up the opposition so as to make the winner seem all the mightier"

"Aaaahhh…." Viola nodded, recognising the logic from debates or rhetoric, but deciding to leave it be.

"the family really isn't that bad…" Falco bumbled on, fidgeting with his fingers "But it's really most upsetting to be the bearer of bad news, especially to such august individuals… though of course not as respectable as you Viola-chan-sama" he responded, smiling at little to Viola before he continued "But they just get so angry when it's about that exhibit, the wound is still very fresh for them I'm afraid"

Viola nodded as she gave Falco a sympathetic look, _poor guy is more scarred than he lets on, better give him something else to think about_

"By the way, about reporting what has happened…" She began, her response making the director turn towards her with inquisitive eyes, his distress partially expelled from his mind "Why didn you not tell who Coyle's daughters were?"

Faloc got a strange look on his face, a mix of both embarrassment, shame and pride "well, Some of What Coyle said does ring true… it's not like the world government would let it slide that a child of a criminal was out and about, even if they were underlings of a shichibukai…" he then looked up, trying to look determined and dignified, which was undermined by his light blush "I don't want people to die simply because of their parents".

Viola couldn't help herself and gave the man a tight hug "Glad to see you've got principles"

When the Rear Admiral returned, it took Viola awhile to explain the directors' lack of breath, the deep purple blush and the odd smile on his face.

* * *

 **(On Dvorak)**

The dinner was still on its way, which allowed the assembled pirates, princesses and members of the Isle family to socialize, although tentatively, conversation had so far revolved around family, the blood related kind, not extremely good friends, which not all of the Strawhats could say they had.

It didn't deter their travelling companions though.

"Cousins must be wonderful Lucy-san, I can't wait for Viola-san to get married and give me some of my own" Rebecca smiled innocently at Luffy, but while giving Sanji a suggestive and hopeful look. Neither of which the chef noticed, as he'd swiftly begun to froth at the mouth, no doubt in Nami's mind that he was imagining Viola in a wedding dress walking down the aisle (that he'd be the one waiting at the altar was a given, though it was equally likely that he didn't think about the groom at all, giving more attention to the bridesmaids and all the female guests in his little rose-tinted fantasy-setting).

"If she's smart, she gets one that won't stray, they can be a hell of a headache" Fran grumbled knowingly, wolfing down another large steak.

Franky cocked an eyebrow at her "Mrs. Fran, when you say stray…" the cyborg began, looking slightly nervous at Luffy's mother from across the table, small beads of sweat (which should be possible for a metal-man) emerging on his brow.

"One that won't go out and travel all over the place for years!" Fran scoffed "Damn trouble they are! Look at my husband! Goes out and get himself a wanted poster and all such nonsense!"

Hoping to get their host in a better mood, Vivi smiled at her as endearingly as she could "by the way Fran-san, How'd you meet Dragon? And found out he was the right one for you?"

Seemingly distracted the middleaged woman scratched her chin with a greasy finger "Well it started out years ago" she eventually said, a rare smile grazing her face "Dragon was looking for shelter during a storm, and fell over my house, and, nice woman I am,-" Nami gave their host an odd look at this, fortunately she didn't notice "-I gave the sourpuss a place to be by the fire"

"Why was he out in the storm?"

"Well bluehair" Fran began alternating between stuffing her mouth and talking "Numbskull said he'd had an argument with Garp, thas' his dad, and would rather take his chances with the weather" as the woman wolfed down another steak, both Nami and Luffy gave an understanding nod, Garp was a bit of a trial simply by _being_ (which was starting to seem like a family trait at this point).

"And I liked the fact that he listened to me…" their host looking down at her empty plate (which Sanji was quick to fill with more meat, hoping to keep the harridan content) while a lopsided smile played at the edges of her mouth, face softening up considerably, making most of the women around the table look at her with satisfaction (and a bit envy) "…and then he said he wasn't going to do all that! Because he wasn't a servant… or something like that, I wasn't paying much attention to be honest... he might've said washerwoman, now that I think about it… but then he definitely said I could do all that myself" taking a small break Fran shovelled another steak into her mouth, ignoring the surprised stares and cocked eyebrows her guests were sending her way "And so I did! But for some reason he changed his mind before I'd started mopping the floor for real…" Fran simply stated, before musing "Perhaps it was to protect me from the walls that turned all gooey… and caught fire…"

Most of the table didn't doubt that turn of event, some even having sympathy for Dragon at that very moment.

"He ran off again the next day…" Fran continued, before smiling viciously "…But I tracked him down when it was time for the laundry to be taken in and he'd learned to follow a few simple orders by then, but…" she scoffed "…Not all, he's still trying to follow some halfassed dream about some revolution or whatever" she ended her tale with a shrug,

"So…" Vivi began "is Francis-san your only…"

"Francis to family only bluehair" Fran corrected her with a scoff, in between bites of steak, her mouth so full she was starting to resemble an overstuffed trashcan "You can call him Cohille, or cobb, or whatever it was Orangehair called him" she said, waving a hand at Nami.

The navigator in question, decided to let it slide, they were the guests after all.

"…Is Coyle-san your only brother?"

"Nope, I mentioned Fortunato and Fernando before didn't I?"

"Wo'bu aaa D?" Luffy managed with a mouth full of food, and it was only due to a lot of practice that Nami faintly understood he was saying _who're they_? How he could be that dense was beyond her. Fran understood too, given the scowl that flashed across her face. Another miracle was that she didn't punch Luffy for it.

"…My oldest, Fortunato, and my little brother, Fernando." Something in Fran's tone made it very apparent that no one, especially not if they were within reach, should ask anymore about her siblings. Usopp just managed to stop Luffy from asking any questions about the pair.

Fran seemed like she was just about to ask to be forcefed like that too, but Carrot interrupted her.

"Hi Cho-niki what's up?" Looking at tehe reindeer, Nami initially didn't see anything but Chopper walk up slowly towards his seat from the couches. It was the slow kind of walk that showed the person had the weight of the world on their shoulders and were stubbornly willing themselves forward in an attempt not to be smothered underneath. The sight of it was far more upsetting than it should be.

"Chopper…?" she began, as the Reindeer sat up on his chair a heavy look on his face

"he's just super tired" Franky offered with a smile and a laugh "I'd be tired too if I had to save lives left and right all the time!"

"that's not it…" the small doctor began with a feeble voice "the disease is too widespread… the blood ain't enough…." He whimpered, tears starting to form in the corners of his eyes

Silence followed, it was rare to hear a member of the crew say something was impossible or indicate that they'd give up in any way. At least in their chosen field of expertise.

"Ok, you can tap some more then" Fran said, her face deadest, while stretching out her arm towards the reindeer.

"Yeah you can take some of mine too!" Luffy added with a confident grin "You can take as much as you need"

While the two's actions were certainly touching, Nami knew it wasn't what Chopper meant, just like with Viola, Rebecca's blood hadn't been enough because her blood was too different from Viola's own. And as Chopper explained it to the pair, the navigator was proven right. Even while Fran and Luffy questioned some of the words Chopper used, like mutation or inflammation (mispronouncing both words) the message appeared to get across.

Luffy's grin disappeared, while his mother cocked an eyebrow, seemingly deep in thought (Nami felt that, while it was oddly touching, Fran shouldn't appear that similar in character to Rindo right then and there).

"So we got all this way for nothing?!" Vivi began, her eyes fearful

"This is super unfair"

"I don't' want them to die! Can't you do something Cho-niki?"

"What about your other brothers?" Rebecca blurted out suddenly "Fernet-Branca and…Fortune…"

"I ain't looking for those two bastards to stave off the apocalypse!"

Nami's mouth dropped while looking at Fran, the woman simply stared straight ahead, face set in stone, stuffing her pipe.

The room almost immediately erupted into shouts, outbursts, comments and demands: "You can't be serious!" "They're your nieces!" "You were super okay with donating your own blood!" "it's for a good cause!" "Your are by far the worst person I've ever met Doflamingo!" "Why, what did they do?" "You're worse than…"

The word stream was stopped abruptly by Fran slamming a hand down on the table, cracking the plate and making the cutlery tremble. The look she gave Usopp for his question, could've cracked stone and make a truly fearsome pirate or a marine back down in an instant. The sniper lacked their type of courage however and he simply shut up.

"What they did…." Fran started out, bitterness emanating from the very core of her being "It all started once Francis didn't have luck with him on a run, so he didn't send money back home for a while, only that silly wanted poster" she pointed at the old one with the 8 million bely bounty "And since my other brothers, those bastards, used money almost as fast as Francis earned 'em, we kinda had to eat dirt for a while…" she took a deep breath from her pipe, a massive tick appearing at the corner of her eye and a vein bulged on her forehead "So When Francis dropped by the next time, Fernando called in some bounty hunters, lots of armed, triggerhappy, nasty bountyhunters! We were lucky to get away in time!" the smouldering rage in Fran's eyes made most people around the table lean back in their chairs, trying to get as far away from their host as possible.

"okay…" Usopp said, a small tremble in his voice, a tint of sympathy creeping in.

"And what did For-Tomato do?" Luffy asked after a while, still not remembering his other uncles' name. for some reason Fran didn't correct him.

"That… happened after Francis'… _accident_ " she shivered and looked more than a little frightened at the memory, her eyes turning pleading as she looked at her son, her words fast, low and forceful "I really don't want to talk about that one…"

While the people in the room backed off after this, it didn't solve the problem before them.

"But what else can we do?" Nami said, turning to Chopper, hoping the little reindeer had some idea

"Could we make them into cyborgs like Franky?" Usopp offered hopefully, only earning a shake on the head from the resident shipwright "Nope, we lack the parts for that on the Sunny, but it'd be a super idea if it worked!" (either ignored the desperate pleas of the two Kuja (coolness seemed to override respecting the wishes of others)).

"Stronger magic?"

"For the last time Luffy, medicine isn't magic!" Chopper groaned in-between sobs at Rindo and Marguerites grim fate (and his own failure at saving them).

"Garchu?"

"It didn't cure the others before, I don't' think it'll work this time either" Chopper moaned tiredly, his face still flat against the table

"What if it's a man doing it?!"

"Vinsmoke, If you as much as smell in the direction of my nieces I'm gonna _girdle_ you!"

Despite Fran's misuse of words Sanji understood perfectly, swiftly getting a chair in front of his shaky body.

"Do we have something serious we can do?" Nami finally ventured, looking around at the assembled people in desperation. No one said a word. Usopp and Franky were also looking around, hoping to get ideas or spur others into contributing. Carrot was patting an inconsolable Chopper on the back. Rebecca was alternating between looking at the table and the two sick Kuja. Luffy didn't look like any thought had occurred to him at all, but Nami knew he'd jump to action the moment they had even a semblance of a plan. Fran was puffing diligently on her pipe, which did not sit well with everyone:

"Your nieces are dying!" Vivi finally blurted out furiously, pointing an accusing finger at Fran "Why aren't you more upset?!"

"Whats' that supposed to mean bluehair?"

"You haven't even moved a muscle since hearing about Rindo and Marguerite, you've just been smoking on your pipe and-and barking orders left and right! Don't you care?!" Nami was mentally preparing to split up the catfight that was brewing, but fate was merciful this time around, as Fran miraculously didn't lose her head.

"I really don't care what you think Bluehair" she began, her voice devoid of anykind of diplomacy or politeness, eyeing Vivi through a slowly dispersing cloud of dark smoke "But you don't raise your voice with me and definitely not in my own house"

Vivi blinked, not understanding the woman's attitude, at all (along with everybody else for that matter).

"You mena you're not going to do anything?!" the Alabastan princess asked again, still in shock

"I didn't say I wasn't gonna do anything bluehair" Fran responded, getting up from her seat and walking over to a cupboard.

Opening it, she pulled out a small Den Den Mushi.

"I'm going to call Francis and make him do something about this damn disease" she fidgeted with the snail trying to figure out how to turn it on "Big Brother was here a few days ago, he can't have gotten that far!"

The rest of the room looked at her in stunned silence,

Before erupting in a loud unified, confused and very surprised:

" **WUUUAAAAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!"**

* * *

 **That's it for chapter 18**

I'd like to welcome new readers and subscribers, glad you seem to enjoy my little tale so far.

I know I said it'd be a week, so I'm terribly sorry it took almost 2 before I updated.

January is a bit busy for me, so I think that it'll be about later this month for an update, but that is at its absolute earliest. It's far too likely that it'll be in February that chapter 19 hits this page.

That is if I choose to have it be a long chapter and not just a small

But regardless: I'm happy to show a bit more of Luffy's maternal family, though I'll hopefully diminish the use and references to Luffy's uncle. In this chapter I've refenced him in almost every section/micro-chapter, so it's getting a bit old.

 **Threads this chapter**

I'll do a quick recap in the beginning of next chapter instead of in the ending of the chapters from here on out.

Hope you don't mind.

RnR if you'd be so kind


	19. Chapter 19: Setting out again

**Blood ties like Iron chains, chapter 19:**

 **Setting out again**

More revelations – the push forward

* * *

 **Recap-Threads from the previous chapter:**

 **Royals:** Ichiji has arrived on Runny Rum Archiepelagos' main island. Meanwhile, Viola is on her way to Germa to meet with her father and get a life saving bloodtransfusion, museum director Falco keeps her company on the voyage.

 **Marines:** Vice Admiral Gion denies Ichiji his selfish demands and contemplates what the Strawhat crew are doing on Runny Rum, while also giving some serious thought to what Coyle's echo-ghost told her at the museum.

 **Big Mom pirates:** Amande and Galette plans their next move, ordering their underlings aroung and having a little fun on their enemies expense.

 **Strawhats** : the crew and guests gets to know Fran, Luffy's mother (whom most of them agree was likely ousted from hell for unneccessary cruelty and foul language), and by proxy the rest of the Isle D family, a bit better. Also gets a big shock! Meanwhile, on the main island of the Archiepelago, Jinbe summarizes his view on Zoro's figthing style, sense of direction and his spirit animal.

 **Others:** Whitey Bay and Amadob have a skirmish in a tavern, but someone gets in between.

* * *

 **(On Dvorak)**

"What d'you mean: _Call Francis_?" Usopp ventured not knowing what else to say, like the others in the room he was staring at their host in a mixture of disbelief, shock and bewilderment.

"Well, call him in this here snail of course, what else?" Fran responded with deadpan annoyance, pointing a fork at the Den den mushi on the shelf "He better pick up though, can't always reach him" she shrugged and skewered a steak on her fork.

Vivi was next to break out of the shock "But, we thought… you said that Luffy's uncle didn't come home from the seas one day…. Didn't he die?"

"No, he didn't die!" Fran glared outraged at Vivi from across the table, mouth full of steak "I never said anything like that, He just changed a lot, gained a lot of weight… didn't come visit me for twenty years… and now he just pops in every now and then to visit"

The rest of the table did a collective mental facepalm (except Luffy due to lack of the cognitive abilities) while Fran grumbled on about her brother taking care of stuff for her all the time.

"So my uncle's alive huh? Neat!" the Strawhat captain concluded with a smile, oblivious to the awkwardness of the situation or the mood of his friends.

"Why didn't you say that before?!" Sanji wailed at Fran, who still sat in her chair, gulping down slaps of juicy meat (which she shamelessly continued to steal from the others' plates).

Nami simply stared at their host, dumbstruck.

"Is it because we didn't ask you?" Luffy inquired innocently, with his usual look of obliviousness, before he sprung an excited grin while rubbing his hands in anticipation "Or did you want to surprise us?"

Nami dearly hoped it wasn't the case, but wouldn't be surprised it were, given her behaviour, the navigator didn't doubt that Fran would have a sense of logic very similar to her son.

"No, because Francis asked me not to, Dummy!" His mother scolded him, while she gave him a blaming look "I can't go around forget what my family tells me all really nilly! I'm not _you!_ "

Nami breathed a sigh of relief, at least she wasn't that sort of person, "Though yeah, I reckon he didn't want me to spoil the surprise, he's bound to meet you lot in the New World anyway" Fran shrugged, before turning to Sanji "Also, You, get back in the kitchen, I want more" Fran pointed with her empty greasy plate at the kitchen door (not to mention the other empthy plates on the table), while giving the chef a deadpan glare. Sanji just stood there, open mouthed, a small vein springing forth on his forehead, starring down at Fran as of she'd grown a second head.

"Is he broke or something?"

"I just think Sanji-san's tired is all" Rebecca offered, with Carrot piping up "Will a little garchu help?"

While Sanji did snap a little out of it, cracking a lecherous smile, Nami spoke up "Mrs. Fran, when did you last see your brother?"

"About a week ago, but he had some business to attend to, so he didn't stay that long" Fran scratched her chin "Said he'd sent a guy to collect something from this other guy… said he _had it coming_ , so I assume he's a scumbag... He called two days ago to say that you…" she pointed menacingly at Luffy "...and probably the rest of you lot" she dismissively waved at the others before continuing "…had them missing little pampered girls your dad" again she pointed at Luffy "...made disappear at that king convention in Mariejois"

A wheel clicked for a few of the Strawhat crew (said _pampered girls_ looked more than ready to protest that remark), with Franky turning to Nami "Didn't you, Robin, Luffy and Jinbe spy on big Mom's crew a while back?"

"Yeah… we did" Nami mused remembering that conversation ( **authors note, that was back in chapter 13** ), while Fran droned on "…Then he called yesterday and said you most likely were headed towards Runny Rum and might drop in if you got unlucky… though I don't know what he meant with that…" she finished with a shrug, stealing another steak and loudly consuming it.

The rest of the room sat in silence processing what had been said.

Except Luffy "Where'd he go then? I wanna know"

"How'd I know?" Fran responded while she reached for the den den mushi "He's not easy to talk to… all up in your face and willstrong, serious anger issues (though I don't know where he got those), stubborn, …" she listed some of her brothers' faults on her fingers, while the rest of the room looked at her with something approaching despair, the same thing on their minds: _**You**_ _think_ _ **He's**_ _not easy to talk to?! You're practically describing yourself as a man!_

While everyone were giving Fran an extra long _wtf-look (though Luffy wasn't crazy enough to do this with his mother)_ Carrot had gone and picked up the Den den mushi and handed it over to Fran.

"Thanks… you know this is the first one that has proven to be helpful without me having to tell her anything" she offhand mentioned to Luffy as she fidgeted with the snail, earning her more annoyed glares from her guests.

"Francis, you there?" Fran mouthed into the den den mushi, hearing it give a ring, but as no one answered immediately, the woman started to speak louder, eventually shoutting and yelling "Francis. Franciiiiis? **FRANCIS?!"**

Still nothing.

"What the hell? Don't tell me he's gotten pissed at me again!"

"Well of course that didn't work" Usopp commented with a deadpan expression

"Why?" Fran snarled at him from her seat still holding the snail to her ear, just in case her brother answered.

"Well, I tried to call Robin and Brook earlier when I was hidi… when I was calling for aid against the… _weather_ …" the sniper responded, sweat emerging on his forehead, before he drew back on old habits "Usually I keep my 10.000 troops right behind me to deal with a that sort of thing, but today they all off for … a garden party"

"And what did they tell you _God-san_?" Rebecca asked swiftly making the sniper blush (he really loved his new epithet).

"Well…." Usopp said while flashing a broad smile at the ex-gladiator "They didn't answer. And I tried for a long time too!"

"Your crew is rude…" their host responded in between snarling at the den den mushi (the woman was starting to lose patience) and shoving food into her mouth.

"I don't' think anyone can call anyone!" Usopp finally managed, to the despair of the rest of them.

It was best summarized by Franky saying "That's… super inconvenient"

"Mrs. Fran, do you have another way to contact your brother?" Nami's question managed to get Fran to stop growling at the snail, and actually think for a moment, before she reached for her brothers' book.

Flapping through the pages, the woman kept muttering "I'm sure it's in here somewhere!" over and over again like a chant. In the meantime, she spread loose sheets of paper and a dozen collected files over the already stuffed table and into the air above her guests' heads. Some of the pages fell limply on the floor in ruddy piles, while others were saved from landing in the food (while there admittedly weren't much left of it (the others' ate too afterall), the pages could still get stained).

Vivi was the first to look at some of the paper "Hey… this has you Name written on it Sanji-san!"

As the chef received the file, Nami could see that it was true. The file started out with a big picture of Sanji's old working place, complete with a list of employees, papers on the owner Zeff (old wanted poster included), a very detailed menu (numerous in fact) and even Sanji's old wanted poster (causing the chef to cough heavily at the sight).

"What the heck is this all about?" was all the chef could mutter, after swiftly tearing the paper to pieces before either Vivi, Rebecca or Carrot could see it.

"Here's one about _Iron Man-san_ " Rebecca handed the file to Franky, who promptly flipped through it "Man… this is… like super weird… But Super Awesome Too!" He pulled out a drawing "There's even a picture of some of my old inventions! **Just** l **ook at this badboy**!"

Nami looked at the picture that the cyborg waved at her excitedly, which at best resembled a scrapheap at first sight, then a scrapheap with wheels and a cannon barrel. _Why's he proud of that?_

"There's one for me too!" Usopp trembled as he looked at the contents "This is weird!"

"That's just Francis' notes on you guys" Fran called from her seat, her nose still deep in the book, looking for something

"Why'd Luffy's uncle have notes on us?" Franky cocked an eyebrow at their host, asking what everyone was thinking.

"Well…" Fran began, looking up with a bit of a sheepish grin "… After me and Francis got to talking again… I kinda asked him to find out about my boys' underlings…" then she returned to the book, mumbling as she went: "Can't have him sail around with all sort of random weirdo riff raff"

Nami cracked a lopsided grin at the woman, _she doesn't know about Luffy's recruitment-style at all! (and you don't think we're that at all?)_

She didn't need to look around to know that she wasn't the only one thinking it.

"So… this is all your brothers' doing then…" Usopp repeated, a nervous tick emerging in his eye. Next to him Chopper had managed to drag himself up from his despair, looking through the snipers file absentmindedly.

"This is super creepy, he even found out where I used to live and who my dad is! And how my mom looked... and her maiden-name too!" the sniper rambled on, getting more and more agitated as he went on "I don't' like this! Even if it was for you!" he pointed at Fran, who for her part was still ignoring him, going through the book as if it was her meat rations, but the sniper continued none the less "This is super creepy! It ain't normal to be this thorough! Guy must be off his roc…".

He didn't get to say any more as Chopper flapped a photograph in front of him "Hey Usopp, who's this?"

Usopp looked down and swiftly snatched up the picture "OHOHOOOOOOOO!" he shouted excitedly while he held the photo in front of him, his cheeks turning crimson, eyes turning to big pounding hearts and his tongue flapped out of his mouth. At that moment he was the spitting image of Sanji whenever an attractive woman was within sight.

"What is…" Nami began, while the chef moved around the table to see what it was Usopp was starring at

"Hey, what're you hiding there longnose?"

"Nothing!" the sniper responded hugging the photo to his chest, jumped off his chair and backed away from Sanji, all while giving him a defensive stare.

"Must be _Kaya_ " Chopper chimed in as he looked at another paper with an appraising stare. Instantly the chef tried to pry the photo from Usopp, who put up a valiant effort to prevent it.

"Says here she's studying to be a doctor, and she's doing good too!" the little reindeer smiled pleased as he looked up from the paper "At least judging from her grades" the doctor waved the paper excitedly.

Turning from the struggling people (Carrot had joined at the tug of war for the Photo at this point, Luffy close behind her. Together with Sanji the three tried to pry the photo out of Usopps arms), Nami caught hold on some files of her own.

Her own included pictures of her home-village and while it was wonderful to see Nojiko or Genzo and read how they were doing, she couldn't let go of the trembling feeling deep in her stomach. _How did Luffy's uncle find so much on them? The guy had even noted where some of their old enemies were in the world! Right down to coordinates and travelling schedule!_

What she found in some of the other files disturbed her even more…

"Found it!" Fran shouted triumpantly from her seat, the wide smile on her face making the family resemblance to Luffy clear for the first time.

Nami soon understood her joy.

In their hosts' hand,

Was an ancient, wrinkled and coffeestained vivre card.

* * *

 **(The pleasure quarter, on the lower streets)**

This was awesome!

While she'd been living in Tottoland all her life and had never wanted for anything,

The sheer overabundance of luxury of the pleasure quarter was mesmerizing.

Pudding was used to two or three dozen different races and culinary architecture, and this place certainly wasn't like that: most people were human or fishmen, with a rare few of the more exotic races mixed in (that didn't count the slaves though), while the buildings were mainly stone with huge arches and pillars, letting all hear what went on within (usually a party, which started already in early morning).

There was something different about it though: the place was in a perpetual state of revelry and festivity.

Pudding was reminded of Mama's moods when a new teaparty had been announced, complete with singing and Puddings elder siblings being sent out to gather ingredients for the sweets and pastries (sans all the malice and impending doom that might occur for the guests). She was starting to see why madame Stussy and Mama got along so well.

She supposed there were the obvious similarities:

Queen position, underworld connections, intelligence network, attitude towards old stuff (Madame Stussy's collection of antiques rivalled Mama's by far (It's very hard (even for Big Mom) to top a diamond encrusted long pipe allegedly owned by a chieftain of the Scale tribe, a walking stick made from the horn of a twoheaded Unicorn or a three-meter tall candelabra made from ornately carved and petrified Adamwood)), relationship with money and, most tellingly, both were women not to mess with when angered.

The last point had been hammered in when her host had said how to deal with a tourist (or customer) whose offences included: public drunkenness (quite normal for the Pleasure Quarter), yelling, accosting the inhabitants (which meant cupping a feel and demanding that the slap he received as a response be free) and breaking a musicians' instrument.

Stussy had simply smiled gently at the mild misdemeanours, sipped her wine before directing her employees how to proceed.

Hearing of how a man was made to _disappear_ from the streets and then emerge in a pit of scorpions or finding themselves chained to an anchor in sharkinfested waters, made Pudding conclude that she shouldn't be caught reporting to her siblings… at any point. She was supposed to spy on the woman afterall, but the prize for doing so was seemingly more than Pudding could handle.

Still the place she was walking was wonderful.

The sounds of people laughing

The sights of all the wonders the New World could offer for those willing to pay and search

And the smells of a thousand dishes, sweets, wines and perfumes.

All was flooding her senses and making her wish she'd gone to the pleasure district sooner.

It was like an oversized fair mixed with a small idyllic village! It felt like hat Tottoland could be if Mama ever decided to have the citizens do like the rest of the world.

Passing through a food-specialising area, the sight of a 3-meter-long strudel caught Puddings' eyes. Freshly baked, the huge pastry gave off the scent of its' sweet filling like a beacon in a particularly dangerous strait. Pudding breathed in the wonderful mixture of nuts, currants and spices and watched with envy as the baker glazed the pastry with a chocolate frosting.

It was almost too perfect the way the it was divided into three pieces of equal size and carted out to the waiting customer. Pudding watched him with less satisfaction, a gaudy dressed noble (his mannerisms, the air of indoctrinated disdain, mismatch of physical features (which Pudding assumed was the by-product of having far less than 8 great grandparents) and the ostentatious military uniform with a chest of medals and chains of office, left other options highly unlikely) with a twirling blonde moustache and matching hair that he kept short.

While the man himself wasn't particularly interesting (in truth Pudding found him revolting to her core, especially after the man started to complain that the chocolate wasn't to his liking, making Pudding conclude: _that man wouldn't know good chocolate if it descended from the heaven themselves in front of him carried by angels and covered in gold_ ), the sight of him reminded her faintly of someone else.

 _I wonder what Jiji is doing…_

A shiver went up the length of her spine as soon as the thought entered her head.

Blushing heavily, the young woman shook her head from side to side to get over it.

"Is something the matter Lady Pudding?" the stone-scrapping voice of her companion rasped from behind her setting her teeth on edge.

Startled, Pudding turned around to face Madame Stussy's butler, the aging, and huge, Beliworth. He had let her have her space and walked several steps behind her, only making his presence known when he was to pay for something in the district or when he had to carry any of her shopping. As such, the ancient butlers arms were filled with bags and boxes of hats, clothes, shoes and candy (Pudding took after Big Mom in this aspect, but she also liked to have ingredients for her own chocolate experiments). Reminding herself that Pudding had yet to look over some of the antiques that the district also offered, she almost pitied the man, but also dreaded having to spend more time with the stonefaced elder.

Presently said visage looked as deadpan at her as the man always had (except when complaining to his mistress over spending and how she'd never leave her quarters clean, sounding more like a mother than a butler), it was almost as unnerving as his grinding voice.

"NO" she lied, hoping that the diminished light would hide the blush on her cheeks "Just appreciating the bakers' craftsmanship… " she waved her hands in front of her frantically, hoping to convince the butler, before balling her fists at her side while casting a glance back towards the noble eating the strudel (and still complaining about it as if it was the worst thing he ever ate) "…and then watching it being wasted on that…" glaring at the noble, whom by now was throwing parts of the strudel at the chef, the poor man forced to take cover behind a table "…ungrateful **thing** "

That last bit wasn't acting or lying in the slightest, and behind her charade Pudding took heart when Belliworth looked past her at the churlish glutton, yelling for another strudel, with apples and cinnamon, while simultaneously threatening to slice the bakers' nose off. Even if the butlers' face was unreadable, she was certain that he'd bought it (she dearly hoped so!).

Finally the man spoke "I see your apprehension" nodding slowly at her, before adding "He's also being unnecessarily rude to the chef, so it seems required that I do something about that…"

He let the idea hang, letting Pudding imagine that he'd go and tell his mistress all about it before long and then the Noble's life was forfeit.

"Uh… perhaps that's a little harsh…" Pudding held up a nervous finger hoping to dissuade the butler.

"What Madame would do to him?" Belliworth responded instantly, taking Pudding by surprise "that wouldn't serve for this one" he turned towards the noble again, who was still yelling for more food "A noble, thus one is from Mororo Kingdom it seems, tends to get away with more than is allowed in most locales" he scratched his chin, for once looking thoughtful.

"So there's nothing to do then?" Pudding looked dejected, even pouting a little

"Not directly no" Belliworth confided as he turned to leave the scene, Pudding reluctantly following him "May I suggest we return to Madame's mansion and unload your belongings Lady Pudding? It's almost time for dinner and Madame does not like it when her guests are late"

"but… what're you going to do?"

"Well…" Belliworth hesitated slightly "When dealing with nobles, you don't charge them _directly_ " he confided with a twitch at the side of his mouth, which could almost look like a smile "You deal with their staff…"

"You want his subordinates to deal with him?" Pudding watched the man with befuddlement, unsure what exactly he was intending.

"Again… not directly, and not well-knowing, at least at first"

"…How?" Pudding eyed her companion inquisitively, even as the pair walked towards the mansion, the warm glow of the street lambs illuminating them one moment, only to bathe them in shadows the next. Belliworth responded when his face was divided by light and darkness, making the mans' craggy features resemble a scheming harlequin in a play "Well… As you might have noticed, I have certain features which are higly useful when performing certain tasks…"

Pudding stooped in her tracks, staying in the light for a moment before she joined the butler in the darkness "You're going to play poker with them?!"

"Indeed, I've only ever lost to three people" the butler said, a hint of pride and boasting appearing in his tone "Why, I believe I can rob the man blind without even touching his wallet!"

Pudding giggled as the pair walked on in silence, but not just because of the rude nobles preeminent misfortune.

 _Yes, indeed you do go through the servant to get the master…_ Pudding smiled, her features hidden in the darkness, the smile waxing to kind an appreciative in the light and back to scheming in the shadow. _Thank you for that advice, I can't wait to go through your memories to see what you can tell me about madame Stussy…_

* * *

 **(On Dvorak)**

"We gotta go!" Luffy's shout filled the room "We're going to get _Franky-2_ and save our friends!"

While the rest of the rest of the crew were either joining in (Sanji in particular, though part of the chef obviously wanted to stay with the two stricken Kuja (both of whom were trying to get up and join in finding their father, but Marguerite only managed to get caught up in her blanket and Rindo had her hair ruffled, making jer appear to have a tiny dark haystack on her head) and cater to their every need (for some strange reason the chef was looking more happy than usual at that prospect)) or restraining Luffy and tell him they had to have a plan first (with Franky also explaining, though laughingly, that Luffys' uncles' name was _Francis_ , not _Franky-2_ ). Naturally, Nami tried to speak some sense into her captains' head, despite knowing it was almost always futile.

"We gotta know where he's at first! There's a ton of enemies out on Runny Rum Archipelago right now! That Vice Admiral, Big Mom's crew, those other pirates…" she listed the different groups off swiftly "and we have to meet up with Jinbe, Zoro, Robin and Brook too! We can't go and get all split up like crazy"

"What?" at the sound of her voice the rest of the room stood stock-still, for although the word was simply, short and normal, when spoken by an angry and suspicious Fran, it got the gravity of other things like, _Yonko! Bustercall!_ and _end of the world_. At that moment Nami wouldn't be surprised if Fran could make _teddybear_ sound like a prolonged exercise in different torture techniques.

"What's that stuff about a Vice Admiral?"

Sanji was the first to respond "There's a beautiful Vice Admiral-chan that are in charge of the marine base…"

"That Gion-girl everyone is always chatting about?"

"You've heard of her?" Nami gave her an incredulous look: _Fran could be ignorant about who's who of the shichibukai, but she knew about a high-ranking military leader?_

"Hard to miss, all the little girls around here want to be like her" Fran waved her hand at the notion with a scoff "It's almost as bad as those two's-" she pointed at her nieces "...Queen whats-her-name" she scratched her chin trying to remember what she'd been told scant minutes before.

" **Empress Boa Hancock!"** both kuja answered before they slumped back on the couches, still too tired to do much other than that. Even after several days of illness the two could summon a lot of energy when it came to their idol. Nami hoped that no one on the crew ever insulted the woman, or at least that those two ever heard about it (not that anyone had need for it, but it could still happen).

Chopper swiftly jumped down from his chair at the table and attended the pair.

"In my doctors opinion…" the little reindeer began, summoning the attention of the others "Neither Rindo or Marguerite should be moved, they need absolute rest!" for once the little reindeers' _doctors orders_ weren't ignored.

"Chopper-san, I don't think that Lucy-san would bring his cousins on this trip" Rebecca began soothingly giving the reindeer a kind smile.

"Who the heck says that Luffy'll be on that trip?" the expression on Frans' face was unmistakeable, all tied up as if she'd been eating nothing but lemons for hours (not that her tone made it difficult to imagine her thoughts, the sound of which made Nami cringe reflexively, she must've heard it a dozen times a month before Belle-mere died): Someone was about to get grounded.

"Well…" she began, halfway waiting for Fran to interrupt her "It'd be wrong to not include the _captain_ of the crew, especially since it's his uncle we'll be trying to find" _also, I think he'd like not to be left here with you_ Nami thought to herself, even as she smiled disarmingly at their host.

"You think I'm gonna let my irresponsible son go out to find my _even more_ irresponsible brother, when there's a ton of pirates, and marines, out there looking for ya?" Fran said with a raised eyebrow, daring Nami and anyone else to speak against her.

"Well…" Nami began, but Luffy beat her to it, waving a hand dismissively

"it's like that everyday! We'll be fine"

"Francis said the same, and he wasn't _fine_ when he staggered in two months after the newspapers said he'd died!" Fran shivered at the memory and hugged herself for comfort, looking frail and helpless, her voice beginning to waver, bordering on breaking "He looked like one of 'em corpses that wash up on the beach after a storm... and after there's been seagulls and crabs and all that… _he even lost his concord haki to some sort of weapon those scummy psycho bastards used! _So don't come and tell me you'll be _fine_!"

Although she didn't agree with her, Nami could see what Fran was afraid of (borderline hysterical some might say), but she could also see that Fran's fears had to be pushed aside for the greater good. And after they'd found Francis and saved Rindo and Marguerite, her worries would be put aside again, because there was no way for the crew to remain with her for long (for a vast number of reasons). It was almost enough for her to feel sorry for the middle-aged woman.

"I've never been that hurt!"

Several people around the table remembered it very differently than Luffy did and gave him scrutinizing looks as a result, Chopper especially (the tiny reindeer was rubbing his hooves like a normal person did when cracking their knuckles). It was nothing compared to his harridan of a mother though.

Simple starring him down with the gravity that only a god could hope to copy, silently, Fran forced Luffy to slink back into his seat and shut up, shuddering all over, though whether from fear or frustration was hard to tell.

Just as their host opened her mouth to, no doubts in anyone's mind, ground the feared and notorious pirate captain for life with no dinner, a small fragile voice stopped her.

" _Mrs. Aunt…_ "

Fran immediately got up and walked over to kneel by her niece, the worry and defiance against her son giving way for… _whatever_ nurturing instincts she had stored away in her being "What is it Marge?" (no one corrected her for getting the name wrong).

"You're not calling her by her haircolour?"

"Of course not! Even if her father's a git, she's still family" Fran responded to Rebecca mumbling with a curt wave of her hand "Now can it, my darling little niece is trying to talk here!"

"Luffy-san managed to make the Empress nicer" the blonde continued, looking up at her aunt with big shiny eyes "There's nothing he can't do, please let him go search for faddørr-san" the word sounded oddly coming from the Kuja, but it stood to reason that neither of the women had had much use of it. Times had changed drastically, and if they caught hold of Francis, that is if they ever got going, the two women would get to use it regularly.

When Fran turned uncharacteristically silent, Nami had to go watch her from the side to see what was going on with their host. She also got a good look at the rest of the room: at that moment, Sanji was looking particularly jealous at an oblivious Luffy (if Fran ever bothered to think about it, Luffy would be in for hell for making an empress _nicer_ ), Chopper was being held back by Usopp, preventing the doctor from charging up and telling his charges to calm down. Franky helped, just in case the reindeer used a rumbleball to break free. Carrot was trying to see what was going on, but couldn't get past Vivi, who was pushing back.

Looking back to Fran, the woman was biting her lips, just like her son did, when he didn't know what was going on. It was a surprising sight to say the least.

Finally she managed to open her mouth:

"Fat chance, Francis is as stubborn as a mule, twice the attitude and thrice the… _Apalachee_ "

" _Apathy_ mrs. Fran?" Vivi suggested kindly.

"If that means he's gotten indifferent to all sorts of stuff… _including family_ … then you're right blue hair"

"Why does she use a word when she's not sure what it means?" Usopp was muttering to himself, thankful that their host was too busy ignoring Vivi's attempt at telling the woman her proper name to even notice the sniper.

"You sure he's gonna listen?"

"100 (cough) percent" Marguerite beamed at Fran, the sight being enough to make the middle-aged womans' heart thaw, though only a little as she shook her head to clear her mind.

"Why aren't you sure mrs. Aunt?" Rindo asked from her couch, giving Fran an inquisitive look through her dark ruffled bangs "You don't trust…" Rindo paused, looking for the right way to pronounce the unfamiliar word "Your _broddur_?"

Their host scratched her hair, a bead of sweat running down her brow, while looking off towards the book the she'd parked on the dinner table.

"Not that I don't trust him… he's the only one of my brothers that's worth a dime these days" Fran responded with closed eyes "Besides I don't want so see my only son" she pointed at Luffy "To end up like him…" she sighed before continuing "Francis used to send letters telling all about this and that he'd seen, asking how we were, ranting off about how powerful this **chaos fruit** he found was and how important it was to train it all the time… damn he must've sent me a thousand letters about that **alone!** " Fran droned on, looking more and more tired by the memory alone "But after that accident of his… he got all scummy, distant and condeserting…"

"Condescending?"

"Why're you repeating what I say Pinkhair?"

"Nevermind..."

"Good, now where were I? Oh yeah, he got all nasty and when he told me that _Dragon'd leave me_ and I called him _stupid_ to his face, he just stormed off and I didn't talk to him for 20 years…" the woman trailed off, before exhaling heavily "Luffy's already crap at keeping contact and got that stupid adventure mindset too..."

"Adventure ain't stupid!" Luffy finally protested "It's AWESOME!"

"That's not the point Lucy-san" Rebecca tried, before stopping herself, lest she incur the matron's wrath (again).

"What's there to say? We gonna go get him and then our friends!" Luffy howled from his seat, slamming his fist down on the table with a resounding thud " _and after we're done we'll go to that nice restaurant on that island with the museum_!" the pirate captain said with a confident and expectant smile rubbing his hands gleefully.

Several of his crew smacked their own foreheads at this, their leader unquestionably sounded like that last bit was the most important thing.

Fran simply stood up and looked at him, no doubt in any ones minds thinking of how to best smack him silly for his skewered priorities. The only one that didn't think that'd happen was Luffy, (if he had even an inkling of it, he'd most likely have slammed through the wall and into the night).

"You know, you could've said there was going to be food involved at the end of all this!" her voice raised several pitches while pointing at the door

"Get going ya dunderheads!"

"But..." Franky started, blinking rapidly at what he had just witnessed "weren't you super against… with the marines... pirates and... your brother…?!"

"That was before I knew they were going to get us a table at restaurant" Fran got up with an overbearing smile and gave the Cyborg a pat on the head "Ordering a table and getting Francis isn't dangerous, everybody knows that"

The room stood, once again dumbstruck and stared at Luffy's mother, all coming to an unspoken agreement that it was no wonder where Luffy got his intelligence from (along with virtually every single other bad trait of his).

"Even my son can't get hurt ordering a table" Fran continued to smile "So what could possibly go wrong?"

"...Except, if you don't get-a-moveonthis **INSTANT** **!** "

* * *

 **(On the Main island of the Runny Rum Archipelago, the marine base)**

"Well?"

"He'll make a full recovery captain Jolland"

Nodding at the doctor as she left him alone with the bandaged man, the the rotund captain looked down at his colleague. Although he didn't fancy Redcliff that much, his company was prefered compared to Commodore Durkey's. While the man's devilfruit ability to push and strengthen other peoples' devilfruit powers was definetly very useful, the man himself was a complete prick.

"I can't believe I'm saying this..." Jolland wiped his sweaty face with a huge hand "Get up Cliffy, I'm getting on odd feeling about this whole situation..." thinking off all the pirates that had suddenly sprung up in the space of a few hours, he gulped at what else would pop up "Why the hell did you have to get yourself attacked for anyhow?"

"You do know that most don't get attacked on purpose, right?"

Turning to one of the other beds, Jolland eyed their prisoner.

Young, beautiful, female and no doubt very devoted to justice, Ain should have been an idol within the marines ranks.

But due to her actions:

1\. Leaving the marines and joining Z in a number of dangerous and unapproved attacks on pirates, which had would likely have escalated into a fullblown war with one of The Yonko if it had continued (While Jolland himself wasn't there at Marineford against Whitebeard, he'd met more than a few veterans that broke down crying at the memory).

2\. Not to mention stealing from the marines.

3\. One of the things they stole from the marines (not counting numerous ships and supplies) would've been used to destroy the New World, the **whole.** **Damn. New. World**.

The woman was a criminal and had to be treated accordingly, which was to have her imprisoned and chianed in a cell surrpunded by guards, not being dragged around on a leash like some pet.

Still, Jolland couldn't bring himself to outright despise her.

"True, but as You'll no doubt agree, Cliffy could've done a better job at recuperating from this here blow see"

Ain only scoffed in response, her blue hair framing her face perfectly "so when he gets up, what then? You go hunt for the guy that did this?"

"No..." Jolland shrugged " **We're** going to hunt for him" he gestured to both himself and Redcliff... and Ain.

"I thought I was to restore more of that stupid museum?" the prisoner raised an inquisitorial eyebrow at Jolland

"That's the Vice Admirals' odd fancy that we'll benefit the marines by finding out more of this fruit fellow..." the big captain explained as he adjusted his green marine cap "But she also believes it'll help your case if you help us" he looked down at Redcliff again before facing her with a stern expression "And with everything that has happened, pirates, Strawhat, Big Mom... and now some unknown factor, I'd say you'll see plenty of action over the next few days, perhaps even tonight"

"What sort of pirates?" Ain managed after briefly looking down at her chained arms "What crews I mean?"

"So far, we've identified Hangan, Amadob, Blondie and the Ice Witch Whitey Bay... all of them veterans from the Whitebeard war, along with some new hotfuzz crew, but they left in a hurry, seemed like they were Strawhats' allies..." Jolland trailed off, the reports had been incomplete on that rookie crew, one of his underlings had been adamant it was some sort of underground fighter that had been at Dressrosa too, But Jolland hadn't paid that too much attention, there had been bigger fish to fry afterall.

"So a slave-thief, a would-be-tyrant, an animalistic berserker, a chilly bitch and some rookie?" Ain concluded and as Jolland nodded in consent she continued "makes me wish we'd succeeded in killing alll those monsters even more!"

"We'll there might be a way to do that without a collosal loss of life this time?" Jolland looked at her sternly, the woman starring defiantly back at him.

the only thing that broke the stalemate, was the sound of Redcliff stirring and mumbling in his sleep.

"Pirates! Kill'em all! shoot 'em full o' holes!"

Jolland looked down at him, and with a heart laugh he put a hand on his colleagues' shoulder, holding him don ass his stirring turned to thrashing on the bed "Seems someone is improving?"

Jolllands' hand did little to stop Redcliff from thrashing furhter on the bed, sending pieces of bandage flying and a pillow fly over and slam into Ain's face. Redcliff finally managed to wake up, frothing at the mouth like a rabid dog.

"What the?! Jolland?" the captain yelped as he whipped his head from left to right so rapidly he appeared to have a dozen eyes at once, before he finally focussed on the larger marine, his peeppers wide and bloodshot "I heard Pirate names! Where are the damn Pirates?"

"Not here obviously" Jolland tried to console the man, but it appeared to be in vain as Redcliff only thrashed all the much harder at his response "Well where are the bastards?" he demanded, his voice rising to a near scream

"Out in the town somewhere, we've got patrols out!" Jolland had to use both hands now " DOCTOR! WE NEED SOMETHING CALMING HERE!"

as the Doctor filled Redcliff with more tranquilizer than it'd take to knock out a seaking, Jolland was awed at the frothing captain kept mouthing off about wanting to execute them all.

"Sure thing..." he wiped a sweaty hand over his brow "We'll go out as soon as you've cooled down a bit okay?"

"How am I to kill pirates if I'm asleep?" edcliff raged, the volume turning down as the medicine began to do it's work.

"Indeed..." a sleazy voice came from behind them.

Jolland didn't have to turn to know who it was, Durkeys' voice was unmistakeable, it fit him all too well. Stoopshouldered, lantern-jawed, spindly limbs that made him resemble a spider in a green tuxedo rather than a man (which many were prepared to debate), a smile that would make a his own mother cringe and dark rings under his eyes deep enough to hide a deer in. In short, the commodore was so ugly that a pitchblack room couldn't have hidden him well enough (one of the rare examples of a man that'd benefit from a literal blind date).

And that was his good points.

Jolland managed to salute his superior, who largely ignored him, instead giving a leering smile at Ain (making the woman cringe) as he walked towards Redcliffs' bedside.

"Feeling better Captain?"

"Improving, sir" Redcliff managed with a slurred voice, eyeing the commodore with halfopen eyes

"Well, do it faster" the commodore put his arms around his back, pacing absentmindedly back and forth in the infirmery "Can't have the big gun waiting afterall"

"I'll be up in no time" Redcliff assured him, his eyes growing clearer "I'll be out hunting pirates soon..."

"The vice Admiral will be informed as soon as possible" Jolland interjected

"yes... the vice admiral, of course..." Durkey mused, as he smiled to himself "I'll deal with that, I have to tell her of how it went with the royal delegation anyway..."

"The Germa prince?" Jolland chuckled "man, he did not look happy when the Vice Admiral was done talking to him"

"Prince Ichiji has gracioulsy lent his assistance to our beleaguered base" he turned sharply to Jolland giving him a predatory grin "You should not disrespect royalty, at any point! see to it that it doesn't happen in the future"

as he turned to leave, Durkey gave a finale order (and a lecherous smile to Ain) "If you can talk, you can get out of the bed, we need every man... and woman" he looked at Ain again "...out on patrol, those pirates must be taken into custody. should you find any, especially Strawhat..." he paused, smiling at the three people "You're to take them directly to **me**... **I'll** handle it from there."

While it appeared to Jolland that no one understood the last of the Commodore's orders (even with the logic of: Some pirates are more worth alive), and although he didn't agree with the order, the huge captain helped Redcliff out of bed and out into the streets, Ain between the two, held secure with heavy chains.

"Let's hope we actually get Strawhat captured..." Ain spoke, her voice barely above a whisper "I'd love to see _that creep_ loose him"

Surprisingly Redcliff agreed "And then we'll have due reason to cut Strawhat, and any dirty scum crewmember of his crew, down immediately!"

neither Ain nor Jolland mirrored Redcliffs' smile, not that the man seemed to either notice nor care, smiling at his own private blood-dripping fantasy as the trio found a group of marines and began their patrol, with darkness envelloping them all.

* * *

 **(Still on the main island, inside a luxurious hotel suite)**

The pair had run out of family members to discuss (whom was least likely to get married of their brothers had taken a surprisingly long time to pin down, not so which of their sisters were next (Nutmeg had won out over Flampe by a small margin)).

So now the two Charlotte sisters were beginning to get bored and Galette was beginning to look intently at the liquor cabinet.

In a desperate attempt to keep younger sister off the bottle (at least for a while), Amande made a bold suggestion:

"How long has it been since we played _Murder, date or Marry?"_

"You can't be serious?" the redhead stared in disbelief at her bluehaired elder sister "That game is for teenagers!"

"Oh come on, It'll be fun" Amande smirked at her sibling, making sure not to overdo it, her stoic personality made it unlikely that anyone would believe her actually grinning from ear to ear like some sort of lunatic (or Big Mom on a sugar induced craze).

"Ok…" Galette responded cautiously "I'll go first then"

Amande leaned back in her seat, ready for the weirdness to come in like a tidalwave, Galette tapping her cheek, mentally scraping the barrel of the worlds' hotshots, crooks, powerhouses and deviants.

"Okay… but remember: it was your idea."

"Wouldn't dream of forgetting it"

"So how about: M _urder, Date or Marry_ : Eustass Kidd, Viceadmiral Smoker and… that _orange haired member_ of the Strawhats?"

For a moment Amande looked deadbeat at her sister "a girl? Why'd you put a little girl in the mix? I'm not gay" the last part was partially true, but even if any of Mama's children turned out to be homosexual, the female Yonko's marriage policies would overlook any preferences or orientations they could possibly have (it certainly happened with their feelings a lot).

"And? You're the one that groped her when we caught them in Tottoland" Galette teased with a smile.

"I was trying to get Mama's vivrecard!"

"By reaching down her bra?" the redhead chortled, trying to hold back her laughter.

"That was where she hid it!" Amande could feel heat rising in her cheeks, though a part of her had to admit: _Well at least this isn't boring anymore. But I've got to pay her back for this. With interest._

"But you're stalling" the redhead smirked at her snakeneck sister, goading her to respond.

"Fine: I'd kill Eustace Kidd naturally, date Smoker..." She sighed, knowing she'd likely never hear the end of it "...And marry the little _orangehaired weathergirl_ "

The lopsided grin re-emerged on Galettes' face, quickly joined by a frantic laugh "You'd marry that little girl? Really?" she tried, unsuccessfully, to keep her laughter down.

Cracking up in a fit of laughter, Galette slapped the table repeatedly before she was forced to hold unto her sides. Amande looked at her with a distinct degree of annoyance, bidding her time for payback.

"It'd give Mama control of the Strawhats and that's marginally better than destroying them, don't you agree?" Amande folded her arms across her chest, defending her choices, fortunately her tone instilled a modicum of seriousness (even if it was against her initial wishes for the two of them to have fun) "I'd be able to stand Smokers' obvious smoking, but not in the longrun, cigars and cigarettes don't mix that well…" She waved her hand in front of her face repeatedly before continuing "…and Kidd just deserves to die after what he stole from Mama"

"How'd _hehehehehe-hahaha_ " Galette managed through her chortling, trying to get a hang of herself "How'd he even _pffftt!_ " she almost collapsed from laughter again "…Find out we had **that** anyway? Mama kept it so much under wraps that it was only the ministers and the combatants that knew about it"

"I don't know, someone must've told him I guess, a spy or someone smart… because gods know that meatheaded upstart couldn't have come up with that plan himself"

"How'd you know he's an idiot?" Galette tilted her, still flushed, head at her sister "You didn't repel his attack, that was Bobbin and Brother Crackers' wife… ehehe" Galette sheepishly traced a finger over her cheek mild embarassment settling in "What's her name these days anyway?"

"…I don't know, she keeps changing it to fit the family theme…" Amande admitted with a reluctant shrug, somewhere after Crackers' wife had changed her name from _Pretzel_ because he'd named his sword after her, Amande had honestly lost count (and interest) "She even styles her hair like Cracker these days"

"Yeah, I know, it's so adorable" she put a hand behind her head mimicking their sister-in-laws' haircut "It's like a _little reverse unicorn_ " Galette smiled, glad that at least one of her siblings were so happily married (she intentionally didn't count her treacherous sisters, Chiffon and Praline, for obvious reasons ( **Authors note:** if anyone is puzzled about this sister-in-law, I imagined it is the woman sitting between Galette and Charlotte Mondee at that meeting in chapter 854 or episode 822, that dame is either a wife or a granddaughter or a daughter-in-law of big Mom, that I am certain of)).

"But back to Kidd: everyone is automatically a meathead if they piss off Mama…" Amande pointed out, a stern finger raised admonishingly "Especially after they've already gotten on Red Hairs bad side too" to a degree, Not even Mama was open to the idea of attacking Shanks, even in an unfair fight!

"Fair point" Galette conceded, her laughing fit having subsided somewhat.

"Glad you've had your fun" Amande smiled expectantly "Because it's **my** turn: _Murder, Date or Marry_ :…" Amande paused, just long enough for Galette to get nervous, and while she was having a mirthful joy of her little sisters' wariness, the bluehaired woman quickly brought an end to it.

"Buggy the star clown…." Amande started out slowly, giving Galette time to get more anxious, even nervously try and take a sip of water to wash off the feeling of dread "Strawhat aaaaand: Dacquise."

Galette stopped instantly, her face still red but now it wasn't due to entertainment. More like shock and outrage.

"You can't be serious…"

"I am, now cough up the answers!" Amande smiled at her sibling "Or are you too afraid to give an honest answer?" she teased

"No, because it's pretty damn obvious who I'd pick…" Galette responded with a deadpan expression (which bordered outright disappointment) "First of all, I'd marry:…"

"MEeeee?" a flirtatious and expecting voice came from the side, stopping Galette dead in her tracks.

Neither woman was surprised to see Dacquise stand with his arms folded and a smugly satisfied expression on his face, as if he'd won at cards over a dozen opponents "Babe" he adressed Galette with a smile giving her elevator eyes behind his sunglasses "Even if it's a game, I'm really flattered and happy you'd pick me to mar…"

"I'd obviously marry _Buggy the Star Clown_ " Galette responded deadpan, not an emotion visible on her face, only her voice carrying a hint of anger, not just at having been interrupted but at having to deal with the winged underling "Even if he's a damned dog of the World Government, he's got power and connections, both of which Mama can always find a use for, so it'd be a good match for any of my sisters"

Amande leaned back in her seat, she already knew what was coming, but the true fun of the game was to hear what reasons people had for their choices and as Galette began to list up the next post to Dacquise, Amande listened with rapt attention "I'd murder **you** , because you haven't done anything useful lately and it's better to get rid of the dirt than drag it around the house all day"

Dacquise looked down at her, his spirits starting to break as his jaw started to sag "So you'd date Strawhat?!" even behind his glasses the man looked to be lost in thought. Disturbing unbelievable thoughts.

"A date isn't a long term relationship…" Galette reasoned picking up her glass "besides, if his actions on Tottoland is any indication, I'd at least have fun…" she took a sip "…Perhaps even as much as I had _here_ **before** _you lot_ turned up" she dismissed a miffed Dacquise with a wave of her hand.

As the winged man left, head hanging low and spirit crushed (though both women knew it was only for the time being, soon the guy would be back with his usual straightforward and uncouth advances), Amande leaned in over the table, her hand in her chin "Is this the part where I remind you that you've nursed hangovers most of the time?"

"Comes with the music, dancing and the drinking I guess…" Galette stared down into her glass with a small smile "I've really liked it here…"

"Yeah, me too" Amande conceded, though both knew she hadn't taken anywhere near as much joy from it as Galette "Even if we had to try and be matchmakers for our siblings, however long it lasted…"

"Well, Mama might thank us for our efforts…" Both nodded sagely, they knew damn well that it'd be a snowy day in hell before that happened (in fact, make that two days) or they even got that sort of influence ever again.

"Perhaps we should try playing _marry, date or murder_ to find suitable partners for our brothers too…"

Amande looked puzzled for a moment "That's… actually not a bad idea" she lit a cigarette "But I think we should just imagine who'd be a good match for them instead, I don't even think that there is enough princesses or female pirate captains to go around for all our brothers, and it's boring using the same ones everytime"

"We'll just make do then" Galette bopped her head from side to side "How about that Tajine Queen… erhm…" she struggled to remember the name " _Mormon-ron_?"

"No good" Amande drew a line across her long throat to emphasize "I heard she's a consummate alcoholic (just like evryone else in that country), Mama wouldn't want _that_ " before hurriedly adding "At least not for anyone besides brother Zucotto, and even then it'd just be because he's the _minister of Alcohol_ "

A full hour later, both sisters concluded that it was near impossibly to find a perfect match for their favourite big brother Katakuri.

The closest they got to an agreement was either the mermaid princess Shirahoshi, whom Galette found to be both too young and not adding anything to the crew (since Fishman Island was already part of Big Mom's territory) or Boa Hancock, where Amande argued that she was a Shichibukai and far too wilful to obey Mama's orders anyway (but both had agreed that Boa Hancock would add much needed (wo)manpower to the crew).

Still it was better to argue about it, if only theoretically, rather than think he'd remain single for the rest of his life.

"…You think something will happen soon?" Galette started, growing a little tired of their games.

"Don't know, Hopefully there's going to be some sort of development tonight, I'd like to cut something"

"I know what you mean"

"You're not a swordswoman"

"I can still feel like wanting to harm people!" the redhead protested, before continuing with a sullen tone "Especially after that damn mess at the museum today…"

"Yes I agree, when we find the Strawhats again, they're going to rue crossing us" Amande smiled as she lit another cigarette "If we're lucky, Hangans' men will lead us to Jinbe and that green haired guy so we can remove them early on, less trouble later"

Galette smiled as Amande continued

"No matter what, we'll have to make sure to pay the marines a visit before we leave the archipelago, give a little payback, get that Ain-girl... perhaps even get our bounties up a little" the bluehaired woman smiled as she blew a smoke ring into the air above her head, unable at containing her mirth of the carnage to come.

"I thought that only men were so childish as to worry about _bounty sizes_ " Galette smiled at her sister as she emphasized those words in particular

"but just imagine some of our brothers' faces when we return to Tottoland…" Amande kept pulsating on her cigarette, ignoring her sisters' hamfisted innuendo

"They'll be green with envy" the redhead smirked "Mama might even reward us for bringing her Strawhats' head"

"We better remember to raid all the sweets stores in town while we're at it then" She blew another smoke ring into the air, giving her younger sister a barely noticable smirk "Afterall, it doesn't hurt to be certain Mama is satisfied"

* * *

 **(on the main island, a warship in the harbour)**

"So that's the gist of it" The redhead ended his report with a smug confident grin.

"Well done Ichiji, as expected of my firstborn son" the voice from the den den mushi ranted on proudly "With this new devellopment, we can't possibly loose!"

"Yeah I know" the redhaired prince responded, smiling as he went "When I've gotten my hands on Strawhat, then we'll have that last princess and Riku's grandkid… she's a cutie too I've heard"

"That's not what's important right now!" Judge called out from the snail, his tone turning frustratedn bordering on panic "The real princess is the important thing, not the spawn of some commoner! But the Kuja too!" Judges' voice turned excited as he contemplated the opportunities "If we get them, we can cut a deal with the the rest of their tribe, we can even get Boa Hancock to serve Germa if we play our card right!"

"Yeah, I'd like a wife that hot, it almost makes up for her being a pirate doesn't it?"

"True" Judge consented "But for now, focus on getting your hands on Sanji's imbecilic captain, preferably before the marines do it" Even if Ichiji couldn't see him, it wasn't hard to imagine his father smiling from ear to ear at this point "If we get him custody, we can get the world government on our side for years to come!"

"Not to mention make Dragon bow before us!" Ichiji smiled in anticipation "We don't need Strawhat in one piece for that though, do we? I'd like to repay him for refusing our generous offer after what happened in Tottoland" ( **authors note** : see chapter 6 of the previous fic: _Out of the Jaws of death_ , titled: _Epilogue_. It really **wasn't** a generous offer)

"As long as he's alive we can use his as a bargaining chip against that bigheaded monstrosity!"

"What happened to Yonji anyway? I thought he was more than able to deal with that freak of nature" Ichiji smiled as he sipped from a glass of wine

"… They used poison" Judge responded immediately, his words rushed and far too forceful for it to be true "We'll ransom the antidote as soon as we have Strawhat" (another authors note: see _chapter 17_ of this fic to know just what Ivankov did)

"Understood" the prince nodded

"Oh and Ichiji"

"Yes father?"

"Since Strawhat has already proven to be able to cause extreme levels of trouble, just to be on the safe side: Make sure he can't fight back or escape later on"

"Break legs, arms and his spine several places, I was going to do that anyway father" Ichiji whined into the snail

"That's my son" Judge added proudly before hurrying on "But better make it seem like it was the marines, we can't have the other kings know about it, they seem oddly fond of the little piece of trash"

At this Judge ended the call, allowing Ichiji to lean back and wait for Strawhat to come to him. The reports told them that two of his crewmembers was on the island, and from Strawhats' actions on Tottoland, there was no way that he'd just let them linger in enemy country.

And when Strawhat arrived, Ichiji would make certain that he'd never go anywhere without chains or a full medical ward.

* * *

 **(Elsewhere in the harbour area)**

JInbe ducked into an alley, dragging the angry Zoro in with him.

once more the fishman quelled his frustration at having to work with a man that'd get lost walking a straight line. What was worse however, was that his companion didn't have the faintest idea what it meant to be incognito. Three times the former Shichibukai had tugged the green haired man under his arm and sprinted off from a marine patrol.

Jinbe counted on it being for the best, that they didn't cause too much of a ruckus, while they found a way to catch up with the rest of the crew.

"You better have a good reason for dragging me around like a piece of luggage" the swordsman snarled from JInbe's armpit, his patience running thin.

"We can't go around an alert the marines to our movements! it's imperative that we saty hidden for the time being"

"We'll still be hidden if we deal with them immediately!" the swordsman protested "I don't know about you, but I'd like a challenge for a change"

 _I'm already dealing with a significant challenge here!_ Jinbe thought as he hid in the shadows, avoiding detection from a group of eight marines "And then what? What'd we do with the bodies? the screams? the inevitable sound of swords clashing?"

Zoro just shruggered "there's a sea and a sewer around here somewhere"

"I'm **not** fighthing knee deep in waste"

"No, it's for the bodies you're babbling about"

Jinbe simply sighed, happy that he had plenty of experience with stupid arguments and dealing with them (it's amazing what you'll learn when you're a new recruit in the military... and when you're dealing with a group of entitled marines as a Shichibukai).

"Listen, let's do this my way" he started, slowly, making certain that he didn't raise his voice, lest the marines were alerted "And we'll do it your way if that doesn't work"

Zoro mulled it over, doing what could vaguely be called a pout, Jinbe hurriedly continued "If you don't make a fuzz, we'll do a quick stop at a winesink, hows that?" as he briefly pondered why the patrol was so slow (and large)

"There won't be a quick stop unless they're out of booze"

While Jinbe didn't like the implications of the response, he was none the less happy, that Zoro wasn't doubling back on his word immediately. As he put the smaller man down, JInbe noticed why the marines were taking so long.

they weren't a patrol.

they were a prisoner transport.

In the cart the marines were dragging after them, despite being in chains and beaten bloody, Jinbe could easily recognise some old faces. Some very well known faces in fact.

"Seems we have to do things your way after all Zoro" he conceeded as he stepped into the streets, Zoro unsheathing his swords behind him with a smile

"After this, we're still going drinking"

Jinbe had no response, hoping that they could do this fast and silent.

* * *

 **(On the Sunny, 20 minutes after Fran telling them to get going)**

Nami looked out at the sea as the Sunny began its slow voyage. She could feel a storm coming up, _but that wasn't so bad_ she told herself, _it'd give them wind in the sails as they set out to get hold of their prey_.

Fran's vivrecard would provide them with all the help they needed for saving Rindo and Marguerite.

Tightening one of the Sunny's ropes, she looked over at Luffy and thought back to what they'd spoken to Fran about:

1\. When they found Francis, don't mention his past as a smuggler, he hates it.

2\. Don't anger him, he's not going to come willingly if he is.

3\. Don't get him to talk about Devil fruits, you'll never hear the end of it!

While Fran had listed off **the great list of don'ts** for Luffy's _uncle gremlin_ , and while that was tedious and too timeconsuming, Nami had actually been more unnerved by how few they were on this trip.

Chopper couldn't have come no matter what, he was integral to keeping Luffy two Kuja cousins alive. Franky had chosen to stay, since Fran's house was proving as much of a deathtrap (after all those incidents with _freak weather_ ) as leaving their friends unattended in front of an onrushing tidalwave (that was on fire).

Vivi and Rebecca had both opted to stay, for different reasons. Rebecca had been on a ship or at sea for a while now and amazingly, had yet to find her sealegs properly (Nami assumed it stood to reason that a gladiator that had never stepped foot off her country, would have some problems with sea travel). Vivi was still very selfconscious after their last trip, even if Nami had assured her that it wasn't that big a loss that her climatact had been lost in the harbour. Regardless, the bluehaired princess had still opted to stay, her bad conscience forcing her to keep her distance.

Usopp hadn't wanted to leave the house, though he'd argued that the girls (all four) needed guarding (which Sanji had volunteered to do less than a heartbeat later), while in fact he was just afraid to go back to an area with both hostile pirates **and** marines. He also argued that he needed time to make a new Climatact and had to have peace and quiet for his work. Nhile it was unlikely that he'd have either on this trip, it seemed to Nami that _peace and quiet_ , was **Not** something to come by when Fran was around, but she guessed the sniper would have to learn that the hard way.

And after Carrot had tried to garchu Luffy (for whatever reason), Fran had tackled the bunny mink to the floor and put her in a headlock.

The fact that it left only Nami and Luffy to do the searching, didn't dawn on the matron until after the Sunny had left for… wherever it was the vivrecard was pointing (Sanji was jealous too, but with 5 beautiful women around him, even if two were off limits with their aunt nearby, he didn't complain).

When Nami looked back she could see Luffy's mother try and yell something from the pier, Franky making sure she didn't jump in the water after the Ship. Nami had to give the woman credit though, as even after donating almost a litre of blood, the middle-aged woman still had legstrenght enough to make Franky lift off the ground wih each jump.

Happily, she couldn't hear Fran's yelling thanks to the crash of waves, but as she looked though her spyglass Nami coudl judge by the mortified looks of the locals and all the mothers holding hands over their children's' ears what the howling entailed.

It was better for a lot of reasons this way, fewer in number meant that they could be more inconspicuous while searching for Francis. As far as Nami could tell, the vivrecard was showing that their target was close. Hopefully the man would be more pliable as an older man, than he'd been when they met his ghost at the museum.

"Hey Luffy!" the navigator called out to her captain, causing him to reluctantly turn form his vantage point atop the figurehead starring out into the horizon (If Nami hadn't told him the Sunny was faster, he'd have tried to take the _Mini Merry II_ and sailed himself).

"What is it Nami?" he jumped down from his spot and halfran to the bridge "Are we getting closer to where Franky-2 is?"

Nami shook her head at the question, hopefully Luffy wouldn't call Francis _that_ when they found him, especially given Fran's explanation of her brothers'... _touchy_ character.

"Luffy, the Vivrecard points us towards the main island, and even if we have to travel further, I'm thinking we can pick up Jinbe and Zoro while we're there"

"Great, they can help us search then!"

While Nami did agree with the general idea, she highly doubted that Zoro would be able to search for their target without getting stuck in a backyard on another continent. But that wasn't what she had to speak with Luffy about.

"There's something else too..." the navigator continued, unsure of how best to proceed. Luffy managed to catch up and gave her a concerned look.

"What is it you want to say?"

"Your uncles files... he found out things about us, that we don't know about our friends!"

"Like what?" Luffy eyed her in confusion "And why does that matter now? We're gonna save my brother-cousins!"

"They're just your cousins Luffy..." Nami corrected him with a small sigh "And it matters because your uncle Francis might be very dangerous!"

"So what?" he looked at her, a lip stuck out "We're always in danger anyway! What's the big deal about it being from Franky-2?"

Nami choose not to correct him on that last one, focussing on her point instead "WHat he knows is stuff like what Zoro was doing before we entered the New World, what places Robin had been before Baroque Works... and some of those are down right nasty I tell you... but even then, he knew where Sanji were and even noted things about most of this fleet thing we've gotten all of a sudden!"

"So?"

"We've gotten a veritable army, some of whom are absolute monsters!"

"Like who? Old guy Chins-and-forehead isn't that bad once he's cooled down"

"Not Chinjao" Nami responded, assumind that was whom her captain was speaking of (Hajrudins explanation of who was in the grandfleet had been even more sketchy than Luffy's or Zoro's, Robins' introduction had been far more satisfactory) " I'm talking about the giant that saved out butts in Tottoland!" Nami paused again, catching her breath, daring Luffy to interrupt with a stupid question

When he didn't, she continued "And this Cannibal guy, the _Barto Club_ "

"Oh!" the captain beamed "Rooster head right?"

"Sure... Francis wrote that he had to _guide Rooster head through the Grand Line_ Luffy... that's bad."

"How?" he knows some of our friends, so he can't be as bad as mom said"

"It's bad because he's been controling things behind the scenes! It even said something in the files about some of the other Supernovas"

"Who's that?"

Nami swiftly reminded Luffy of whom the Worst genereation were, and that he waas a part of it (alongside Zoro, Trafalgar and Bege) before continuing to voice her concerns "and then there's what your mother said"

"That he was just like her, but with ba-"

" **Not that**!" Nami intterupted him with a scoff just as she turned the wheel to avoid a large wave, although part of her dreaded to face that... _sort of characteristics_ again so soon "I mean about that Chaos fruit thingy..."

"That super special Logia right?"

" Exactly Luffy... I think your uncle ate it"

"...Cool" He smiled like a toddler beong tokd they were going to a candy store "I can't wait to see him use it!"

"You want to fight him?!"

"No, No, I don't need to fight him to see it"

Nami looked at him, somewhat relieved "Oh, that's goo-"

"There's going to be plenty of other people that's going to do that! the Marines, Big Moms' kids, perhaps we'll meet _Cabbage_ too!" his smiled gleefully as he listed off the opponents they might face (though why he included one from their _own fleet_ was beyond Nami), but then he stopped, frowning and gnashing his teeth "That _crownye-head guy_!"

"That's you wanting to fight that Amadob guy, I can understand, but we can't, we have to hurry doing this!"

"...Yeah, you're right..." he conceeded reluctantly

"But we **are** going to beat him up later... after we've gotten Franky-2" Luffy commented as he turned to scan the horizon, no doubt looking for another adventure "and has eaten all they got at **that** restaurant" he finished while smacking his lips excitedly.

For the first time on their ride, Nami managed a smile, glad that her captain hadn't gotten completely into crazy revenge-mode.

Following his gaze, even in the approaching gloom, the two could start to see the outline of the Main island, the humongous Marine Base capping off the hill like a large crown, recognisable even at a great distance.

Somewhere beneath the cannons, two of their friends were either hiding or fighting for their lives (though most likely for fun) and it was where the Vivre-card was pointing them.

Hopefully the pair of them could help them find Luffy's troublesome uncle aswell.

And soon,

Chopper had made it abundantly clear that neither Rindo nor Marguerite would survive for long,

if the captain and navigator didn't fetch the two Kuja's father Francis right away, Luffy´'s two cousins would die, a slow excruciating death (Chopper hadn't spared them as he explained the final stages of the disease in gruesome detail).

Looking at the island in front of them, the navigator dearly hoped he was on the main island, both so they didn't need to travel any further, and could get him back to Dvorak immediately.

But Nami doubted it'd be that easy.

With marines and pirates waiting for them,

Nami could practically smell the blood that'd run already...

And she was heading straight into it!

(Even as part of her mind continued to complain that the worst part was that they wouldn't get any money out of it, period!)

* * *

 _And so it comes to pass._

 _that all lines converge on the Main island of the Runny Rum Archiepelago._

 _As the wind whips up yet more brine and the waves run ever higher,_

 _and the air turns crispy cold and charged,_

 _even a child could tell you that a storm's brewing:_

 _Two pirates sail towards their destination from Dvorak, arguing all the way, aiming to be saviours, hoping that they won't be too late._

 _On the main island, in a luxurious hotel, two sisters keep planning the end and ruin of their enemies, while plotting to get in their mothers' good graces._

 _Deep within the bowels of the Marine Base atop the same island, a Vice Admiral keeps pondering what the future brings and what is hidden in the past. What her over-eager subordinates are up to matters little in comparisson, their prisoner largely forgotten, being dragged along through the streets._

 _At the docks, a prince wants to secure the missing princesses as swiftly as possible, and take others into vustody as well, and something else too... something which he dearly wants to make his._

 _On the streets of the town, a silent figure with a briefcase stalks through the shadows as if they were a second home, though noone who manages to notice knows whether they are searching for prey or simply passing time._

 _Two other pirates are trying to deduce what's going on on the streets._

 _the pirates captains that're just trying to keep their heads down, hoping to escape before all hell breaks loose.  
_

 _Or the man that, unknowing off all the other parties, is simply teaching his dog new tricks before it was dinner time?_

 _Who'll win in the end?_

 _Or will they all lose?_

* * *

 **End of chapter 19**

this was a very chatty chapter, with perhaps a bit long scenes that felt like it just drew out in the indefinite, I just really wanted to expand on the different characters and goals of the different groups before we dive into this next part.

Don't worry there will be less talking and more slashing in the chapters to come, If I can manage it, the segments of the story will also be shorter so it becomes more dynamic visually as well.

Btw welcome to any new followers, Hope You'll stick around for the rest of this story, even if it's getting near it's natural conclusion.

This one took a while to post and finish, so I hope you can forgive my tardiness, it's been a very busy few weeks so far.

I don't know when I''l post the next chapter, but regardless, stay tuned for the twentieths chapter titled:

 _Rendezvous of Friends and Foes  
_

RnR if you'd be so kind, hard to improve my writing without it


	20. Ch 20: Rendezvous of frineds and foes

**Chapter 20**

 _Rendezvous of friends and foes_

* * *

 **Recap-threads**

 **Strawhats:** have had split up further, Nami and Luffy have set their sights on getting to Luffy's uncle Francis, whom, thanks to his vivrecard, they know where to find, but hopefully they can make it in time. Meanwhile, Jinbe and Zoro prepare to attack a group of marines.

 **Big Mom Pirates:** the pair of sisters (Galetta and Amande) have even more fun, discussing family and marriages. Meanwhile, Pudding follows her own agenda.

 **Royals:** The Vinsmokes are plotting to turn everything to their advantage, which includes some sinister plans for the Strawhats.

 **Marines:** after a brief hospitalisation Redcliff is out and about again, Jolland and Ain with him, doing Commodore Durkeys' bidding.

* * *

 **(On the main island of the Runny Rum Archiepelago, at the docks)**

The last rays of daylight had disappeared and been replaced by the reflection of the moon when the Thousand Sunny found a spot on which to moor, gliding silently into place through the silver crested waves of the dark sea.

It was an inconspicuous position, between several sizeable rocks and boulders jutting out if the ocean, just large enough to conceal the Sunny behind yellow stone and green algae. Nami had concluded that it was the best place to put the ship, since 1. There were only two of them, herself and Luffy, so no one to defend the ship in case someone snuck on board. 2. They didn't want either the marines or the other pirates in the area (Big moms' crew chief amongst them) to know they had returned.

Nami had taken the chance to change her outfit. Her usual pair of blue jeans for easy movement, a black jacket and red t-shirt for warmth and to better conceal herself. Too many had gotten a look at her earlier, most of them enemies, and she didn't fancy being recognised. Luffy…just went as he always did, hat, red blazer, shorts and sandals (sometimes Nami thought that he was a "clothes optional" type of guy, except the hat, but that had yet to be proven). She cast a worried glance down at the only weapon available, her old "Sorcery climatact", split in 3 parts that would swing on her hip like a purse.

 _It had gone from "Perfect" to "Sorcery" and then to another "Sorcery"… the heck is up with Usopps naming ideas anyway? Also: perfect, means_ _ **perfect**_ _, not normally something you improve on!_ She pouted at the thought, cringing a little as she remembered how apologetic Vivi was for losing the second sorcery version when they'd left the main island for Dvorak.

The last bit of the journey back to the main island was done in the Shark Submerge III, even if Luffy wanted to take one of the other vehicles since taking it so soon would be less awesome ( **authors note** , Vivi lost it in chapter 16, the sub was used in ch. 13) but Nami stood her ground on that front. It was better to be inconspicuous than to stand out under the current circumstances, which Luffy had seen the sense of after 5 minutes of explanation (and Nami promising she'd cook him a meal when they'd left the island again (she'd been going to anyway since Fran had stolen more food off her plate than the others)).

Luffy immediately jumped out of the mini sub as Nami hid it in-between a group of larger trading vessels: He was whipping his head left and right, frantically looking for something.

Nami managed to stop him from running off at top speed with a simple "Where are you going? I'm the one with the vivre-card!"

"Don't need that to find food!"

"To find your uncle Francis you do!"

"But it won't give us Jinbe and Zoro"

Nami conceded that he was right on that front, but she still held him a little longer

"Listen here, I managed to rig up a map that'll help us find your uncle Francis" she showed him what she'd been doing, only to stop dead in her tracks

"Hey, I'm not done talking you dolt!"

Luffy was already jump/running halfway down the pier, waving back at her with an oblivious smile.

With a barely muttered curse the navigator sprinted after her captain into the darkening streets of the town.

* * *

 **(within a luxurious hotel)**

"Excuse me! Excuse me!"

Galette and Amande turned to see Kato come running, exhausted with beads of sweat running down the ridges on his pumpkin head.

"Well, what is it Kato?"

"Well _huff_ lady Amande _huff_ " the Homie breathed heavily, the snakeneck signalling him to catch his breath before continuing "We've spotted something in the harbour area, it seems to be the Strawhats' ship that's coming in, by now, it should have anchored somewhere on the merchants' docks"

"Great" Galette smiled smugly "We can get to work immediately then"

"We might want to postpone that idea sister" Amande scratched her chin, deep in thought, the only indication that she was thinking being the rapid pulsation on her smoke.

"Why?" Galette got up, eyeing her snakenecked sibling "They're here, we should use it to ambush them again!"

"It might be for the best to know what they're after first" She cautioned, pacifying the redheaded woman at the table "But we can send a few guys out, just to hound them a little, make them think we're elsewhere… before we strike."

As Hangan and Kato left to carry out her orders, Galette gave Amande a cheeky grin "You curious that little orangehead is with them?"

"Oh shut up Galette!" Amande muttered under her breath as she fastened her sword at her hip, before a mischievous grin came upon her face "Or do you hope for some fun time alone with Strawhat, while I get _busy_ with the girl?"

Galette gave her an incredulous look "...Now you're taking things a bit too far... don't you think so?"

"You started it…" the tall bluenette responded with a matter of fact shrug, leaving for the door, outwardly portraying her usual stoicism, but inwardly she was looking forward to a game of cat and mouse in the dusk and shadows of the town streets.

* * *

 **(On the streets in town, outside a cafe)**

This was nice.

His last few assignments had hit some snags, caused an unnecessary stir in the wrong circles and even worse: reached the public eye. The ultimate trouble was that he'd been recognised, and his bounty had naturally increased as a result.

Not that it hadn't happened after the Battle at Marineford, not to mention what he'd been doing **before** that fateful day, but it'd still be way higher if the marines knew how much he'd been working lately.

Another problem was what had happened at his last job.

He'd been tardy and the target had managed to sound an alarm. It hadn't saved the man from succumbing to his attack, but the authorities had come running too soon and since he hadn't felt like causing more havoc, he'd hid instead.

The bumkins had simply given the marines all that the target had, which to them, included his own hiding place and his precious cargo.

Which had turned out to be a stroke of luck, since it had brought him to his desired destination: Runny Rum Archipelago.

But now, due to Strawhats' interference (and perhaps the fact that he himself had roughed up the marine captain that guarded the targets' belongings in the evidence locker (he'd seen plenty of mad or stupid marines, but never one that was both a borderline psychopath **and** an inattentive idiot!)), he was delayed in carrying out his last assassination assignment. The almost constant and escalating run of annoying pirates and marines through the streets had seen to that, meaning that he had to be confined to a café, waiting for the storm of people to pass.

Which, surprisingly, was another stroke of luck, since he hadn't eaten in a week (being locked in a crate limited the food options available and wood was not an option he'd found desirable).

Sitting at a table outside in his heavy trench coat, hat covering his eyes and bathing his face in shadows, he cut an imposing enough figure that the other patrons instinctively stayed clear of him.

Even the waitress was afraid, but only until she realised that he tipped well.

And they served raw ham in the café too.

Cured to perfection, generously salted and peppered, fresh from the butchers and with an assortment of toppings (including a wonderfully sharp mustard) and side dishes that almost made his mouth water as the maid brought it over with a smile (though it was strained as the little reed of a girl fought not to collapse and be crushed under his huge order).

All of which led back to his previous conclusion: this was nice.

But just as he ate his way through yet another of the juicy meat platters, in the corner of his vison, he spotted two familiar shapes running down the street.

One was a young, thin, darkhaired man, dressed in a red cardigan with a ridiculous hat on his head (which to him made the wearer resemble a hillbilly more than a feared pirate captain (though he didn't get how any one would ever fear him, the usual hysteria of the masses perhaps?) and running after him was a young orangehaired woman, dressed like she was going to an afterparty, trying (in vain) to make the man slow down and act inconspicuous.

As soon as the look registered in his head, he sighed and put the fork down.

"That's it for the peace and quiet I guess" he muttered in his coat his tired voice carrying the weight of several weeks of stress and hard assignments, shaking his head at what he knew would come soon.

He leaned back, half expecting the pair to be followed by a patrol of raging marines, an admiral, an elephant and a Yonko's henchmen all dressed in drag for some reason (just to name a few possibilities).

What happened was something completely different.

Something which made him blink several times, grit his teeth and shake with rage as he looked down at the table. Nearby he could hear the waitress gasp and cover her mouth in shock, his next order of food falling down on the cobbled street with a meaty thud and a clangy screech, courtesy of metal meeting stone and disagreeing heavily. He flexed the fingers on one hand, feeling them dig into his palm and almost drawing blood, while the other hands' fingers drummed slowly on the table, driving deep into the wood.

Eventually he spoke, his voice barely a whisper and each word, while dripping with anger and indignation, devoted to his own discipline and tranquillity even as they escaped through his clenched teeth.

"…deep breaths… deeeep breaths… don't go kill him now **, that** isn't your job here… You've got to kill the little fat one… not Strawhat…Deeeeep Breaths…."

* * *

 **(elsewhere on the streets)**

Jinbe sighed as he broke the last of the chains holding the pirates.

The group of marines hadn't stood a chance against him and Pirate Hunter, so naturally the fight had been brief and (to Zoro's chagrin) extremely onesided.

Internally, he counted them lucky. (Zoro would disagree if he voiced his opinion).

If any of the guards had thought of it, the prisoners could've all died as hostages. Unconscious as they were, not one could've fought back.

Hoisting one particular pirate up, Jinbe gave her a gentle shake "Oi Whitey, can you hear me? Wake up"

A low grunt was all the bluehaired pirate captain could manage. Flipping her over so he could see her face, Jinbe was surprised to see it bruised and bloodied.

 _No way this was done by the marines… they'd be worse…_ inwardly Jinbe thought they do a few other things to the pirate captain, but he doubted it, not with a female vice admiral around. Especially one like Gion. A rare example of a marine that wasn't completely rotten with self-righteous _justice_ coming out her ears faster than Arlong would utter racial slurs at humans.

"She's out cold" a gravelly voice came from the side, breathing heavily. JInbe quickly learned it was the man that had introduced him, Nami, Luffy and the others to Whitey earlier that day.

"Good you're here to tell us that" Zoro snarked sardonically, pouting and kicking the dirt absentmindedly.

"No need to kick 'em while they're down Zoro" Jinbe turned back to the man, noting his state "Berry right?"

"Berring" the man breathed, his breath as ragged as he looked, his clothes bearing marks of fire, bullets and the occasional slashes, but none of his injuries appeared life threatening, at least in JInbe's eyes.

The man had _merely_ been pummelled into submission.

"What happened here?"

Blinking, the bearded man stared at him, eyes flickering as if he was trying to comprehend everything in the world, before coming to a horribly conclusion, his mouth opening wide and his voice more akin to a roar than a shout:

"YOOOOOUUUUUR FAAAAUUUUULT!"

* * *

 **(Elsewhere in town)**

How lucky could you be?

Luffy obviously didn't think that, but he felt it nonetheless, all the way from his head to his stomach.

Not only were they looking for his uncle _Franky-2_ (or something like that, he'd been more interested in avoiding his mothers' fists than listen to a word she had to say), whom they didn't know where was, how he looked or even what mood he'd be in so there'd be plenty of adventure for them (so much fun:P), but he'd also…

"Luffy, we have to be **subtle** about this, remember?"

The captain smiled as he again bit into the hunk of meat, relishing every drop of delicious juice, instead of paying attention to Nami's frustrated complaints.

"It was just one and he had more…" Luffy paused, brow furrowed in concentration, then a bright smile formed on his face "You think we should get the rest too?" Licking his lips, he recalled noticing several other dishes on the table.

"No, we shouldn't"

"But you didn't get to eat that much at moms' either, sure you aren't hungry?" Luffy asked out of the blue, waving the morsel like others would a club.

"… hand me some of that ham…"

"NO, It's mine! Steal your own!"

"Luffy. We don't have time to double back!" Nami growled (or it might have been her stomach, Luffy wasn't certain) before adding, her voice lower than before and strangely subdued, casting a glance back behind her shoulder "Besides… that guy looked like trouble…"

"How?"

"Luffy… _A huge guy in a leather trenchcoat with a fedora that shrouds his face in shadows_ is automatically trouble!" his navigator explained at length, hurrying him forward at a brisk pace, putting the nice café further behind them.

"Neat, it'll be easier to find more fun that way!" Luffy smiled brightly, oblivious to his navigators' dismay at his idea.

But the glee quickly disappeared, as he noticed something strange

"Hey… have you seen my ham?" he said as he whipped his head around, trying to locate the tasty treat.

A muffled "Nope" was all the response Luffy got, so he simply shrugged, figured he could get another one later and looked at the vivrecard in Nami's hand, leading the pair ever forward.

"By the way Luffy, you owe me 10.000 beli for not giving me food"

"But Namiiii! I don't even have it anymore!"

"Too bad captain, you still owe me" his navigator responded, a hand over her mouth (for some reason the captain thought that he heard her burp, but that didn't make sense to him).

Luffy grumbled as the pair sped down the street ("It had just the right amount of mustard and everything…"),

following the vivrecards directions.

And hopefully finding Zoro and Jinbe soon,

And _Franky-2_ (or whatever he was called)

* * *

 **(elsewhere in town)**

Stomping down the street, Galette had a hard time remaining calm.

The excitement of finally getting rid of Strawhat and perhaps some of those pesky marines was too good to pass up.

However, what she'd have liked to pass up was Dacquoise's company.

To make sure they could overwhelm any opposition, the group had decided to remain together for the time being. Galette herself, her elder sister Amande, Dacquoise, Durum and Kato now stalked the streets, leaving Hangan and his crew to search elsewhere. With any luck they'd remove some marines from the streets too.

They'd sent Blondie down to the harbour to alert Brownie (which he had responded to with surprising enthusiasm (not a bad quality in an underling)) and cause some damage to their ship if he could find it. With none of the den den mushi working, most likely thanks to the marines, they had to rely on personal messengers, which ultimately meant, for good and for worse, that their forces were stretched across the whole island.

Far away for them to get in trouble on their own, close enough to be able to help each other… hopefully.

For some, close enough meant continuing to brush up close against **her** from time to time, or, after being called out on such behaviour, walking closely **behind** her watching her every move. It felt too much like predator and prey, and Galette had no doubt about her role in that metaphor.

"So where do we go from here?" Kato asked out of the blue, the homie looking from Galette to Amande expectantly "Are we just going to search the town at random or do we have a plan?"

She pondered this, they didn't know where the Strawhats would go, but they knew where they'd been "it's unlikely that they'll return to the museum" she heard Amande say "it's not likely that they'll double back"

"We did interrupt them though" Galette reasoned "They might not have gotten all that they wanted from that dead smuggler"

"True… but what were they trying to get anyway?" Amande looked down on her, a puzzled look on her face.

"No idea" Galette shrugged, she'd been too busy taking out Devil Child without alerting her comrades to listen in on their conversation. She did notice that the smugglers' echo somehow managed to fight back and give the Strawhats a hard time before they started threatening him with those… spells. How the Orangehaired girl had managed to cast one on Strawhat Galette didn't know. It didn't seem that the girl had cast it on her or any of Mama's underlings. At least not the ones that were there. But Galette might have to take her out the second they started fighting.

In the corners of her mind, Galette thought that Amande might find some sort of use for the girl (leverage against the other Strawhats perhaps, or another attempt to find out where their wayward sister Lola was). And she was positive that more than one of her brothers would appreciate having her around (especially those that were still teenagers, her 34th to 42 brother to be precise) and while Galette would like nothing more than to bring back a present for all of them, there was something quite disturbing about having it be a woman, even when she was an enemy.

Pushing the disgusting thought aside, she refocussed on the matter at hand.

"But we did interrupt them in their little investigation… So it's worth a shot to see if they returned"

"But they'd need the museum director to talk to that smartmouth smuggler…" Kato began, only to get interrupted by Dacquoise "And he left with that princess and that marine broad…"

"Yes Hangan told us, I remember it well" Galette

"Did Hang'n alsjo tell dem Straa'ats dat?" Durum asked with a suspicious look in his pig like eyes, one hand scratching his temple.

"No…he did not" Galette responded slowly "Good thinking Durum"

Even the resident meathead looked at her with surprise at this.

"Uhh, miss, are you ok?" the homie had raised a shaky finger over his head and looked at Galette with big concerned eyes.

"I'm quite fine, thank you"

"But… you just said…" the homie was now visibly shaking and looked as if he was about to call a medic for her, or a dozen (including an otologist for himself).

"I know what I said. And I doubt that Strawhat knows that the director left the island, since there's no one to tell him"

Amande smirked, seeing her sisters point almost instantly.

"So they'll believe that he's in the museum, taking care of the mess we left behind last time"

"Well, it's a bit of a walk" The red headed daughter of Big Mom eyed the street leading to their destination "So let's get to it…" she scratched her chin, feeling like she'd forgotten something

"…good job giving me that idea Durum" she smiled at the brute, taking him by surprise and making Dacqouise give him a jealous glare.

"Dhank yu missus" the brute gave her a salute, the loud clang of the statue hitting his temple filling the street. Unsurprisingly, the bonehead was unharmed, though looking at his, now bent, makeshift weapon with a puzzled expression. Next to him, his winged comrade was bending over, snorting as he tried to not cry out in laughter, lest he incur the brute's anger (or his superiors').

Sighing in unison, the two sisters turned to leave and get some work done for a change.

Some of their foes **had** to die tonight.

* * *

 **(within the marine base)**

Yet again he rubbed his hands gleefully.

Everything was perfect!

His deal with that arrogant twat had been in his favour.

The marines were doing his bidding.

And soon so would the pirates.

All he needed was to…

"DURKEY!"

At the sound of his name being shouted into his ear, he spun around, ready to smack the person daring to interrupt his mirth.

"Why you!" he stopped instantly as he realised whom had spoken. As he turned around, he spotted her instantly, as she materialised in a storm of lotus petals barely a meter away from him with a raised eyebrow at him. Durkey instinctively shrank back, his anger replaced by a healthy fear.

"Vice admiral… I didn't see you there…"

"Nor the five people that had to rush out of your way I presume?" her tone and the steely gaze she was sending him made it all too clear that she was both angry and sarcastic. In the corners of his mind, he was seething. _If she was my underling I'd have given her ten lashes or made an example out of her, walk the plank,_ _keelhauling or a trip to Impel Down!_ But alas, she was his superior.

It was only then that Durkey realised that they weren't alone, a group of about a dozen men had hurried up to stand behind Gion. He knew who they were immediately: Marine Elites, heavily armed, haki users one and all and so heavily muscled that most believed they had been born working out. Durkey hated them, not just because they were nearly perfect specimens of what a marine should be, but because he didn't outrank them. They took orders solely from the commander in chief.

Whom was starring down at him, as if she was examining a particularly disgusting bug and pondering whether or not to stomp on it (and afterwards set fire to the shoe).

"Oh, my deepest apologies…" he bowed before her, feigning sincerity "I was just…"

"Deep in some personal glory fantasy?" she interrupted him, her expression as deadpan as her conclusion "You were rubbing your hands all the way down the hallway, smiling like crazy, a briskness to your step… and I'm pretty sure I saw you drool as well"

Durkey swallowed, sweat starting to emerge on his forehead. Had he been caught?

"I was just thinking of the mission at hand is all!" he hurriedly said, thinking as fast as possible "With all those pirates on Runny Rum, it's only a matter of time before we catch them!" he rubbed the back of his head, hoping she'd buy it.

For a while Gion just watched him, the squash-bug-or-not look gone from her eyes, replaced with one of even greater scrutiny, the sort that doubted a persons' character. Durkey could feel himself shrink a little under it, his hunched posture getting ever more pronounced as the seconds ticked by.

Finally, the Vice Admiral scoffed, seemingly letting him off the hook. Her words didn't indicate that though

"Since you're so sure of victory, I've no doubt you won't mind heading out as well" she paused, letting Durkey's expression fall "I understand you gave Redcliff, Jolland and Ain those same instructions?"

",,,Yes indeed I did… but I assumed you'd rather I stayed here, ready to carry out your orders…"

"I'm not staying here" She cut him off brusquely "There's been sightings of both the Big Mom pirates and their allies on the streets scouring them clean, and that's not all!"

"What else is there Vice Admiral?" Durkey's voice had turned nervous, uncertain of how to thread in front of the woman.

"A group of pirates were found beaten to a pulp about an hour ago, they were scheduled to arrive in the prison, but they didn't show up. Someone must have intercepted them on their route…" the vice admirals' face began to show signs of anger, Durkey was happy that his behaviour was forgotten, at least for the time being. _The woman might only have gotten her rank because of her logia devilfruit, but she could still be quite frightening!_

"Not to mention: Strawhat was sighted down by the docks by a fisherman, but the report came too late to properly investigate"

Durkey looked at her surprised, _I hadn't counted on it going this fast…_

"…Vice Admiral, given that you'll be away from the base, I'd like to volunteer to take command for the time being" he proposed, a finger raised and a hopeful smile on his lips.

Either was quickly dropped as Gion shook her head "No commodore, I want you out on the streets with the other marines, your devil fruit powers could be what tips the odds in our favour"

Durkey nodded, it made sense, his Oshi Oshi no Mi didn't just empower other devilfruits, he could use it to empower people too, making them stronger, faster, more enduring, and more indebted to him. For each victory his powers gave the marines, the greater his chances were for a promotion, a raise or a medal (though the last one didn't come nearly as much as it should).

"But who's to command the canons in case the pirates need to be exterminated quickly?" he tried again, hoping that he could squeeze out a command post of the whole situation.

"There are Pirates in the town Durkey! In the town!" she looked angrily at him "You'd practically be shooting at civilians!" again the commodore shrank back from his superiors' anger at him.

"You have your orders Commodore" she said as she turned to the elites "Now get going!"

Durkey nodded, swallowing his anger at being sent out in the night to work like some common footpad, _No doubt_ , _I'm going to get my uniform dirty too!_ he grumbled beneath his breath. Durkey was just about to leave when the Vice admiral spoke again, setting his nerves on edge

"And one more thing!"

"Y-yes?" Durkey stuttered, managing to stand up straight for a change (or as much as his normal posture allowed him to).

"Some of the special Den den mushi, you know, the ones that allows the marines to communicate despite blocking the signal across the archipelago…"

"Yes, what about them?"

"One has gone missing, there might be a spy in our midst, **be alert.** "

 _Great_ He thought with a bitter note _another problem that has to be hauled onto my poor back!_

Durkey sweated a lot more as he left the base, joining so many other marine patrols in the early night.

* * *

 **(on the streets)**

Skipping down the street, Blondie felt like humming a tune

 _Singing Binks' sake_ (and adding the odd verse of _Ocean Guide_ and one of Soul Kings' last hits when memory failed him) under his breath, he half contemplated whether it was a good idea to fraternize so much with Big Mom's crew.

It had already brought him into conflict with his old comrades like Jinbe or, by extension, Strawhat. Too bad, he'd quite liked both of them (aside from his enemies and his contemporaries in the Worst Generation, you can't but appreciate the progress that kid has made, even if they were technically rivalling captains). Blondie might be pitted against some of Whitebeards old crew in the future too, but he'd just have to wait and see if he was willing to cross that line.

So far, he'd summarized it thusly:

 _ **pros**_

 _One of Big Moms sons were his cousin, Brownie. And Blondie liked the idea of getting to know family a bit better, distant as they were. (Brownie did strike some of his men as a bit of an idiot though, wjlie Blondie only thought that he was a tad lazy)._

 _Joining Big Mom would mean plenty of time for feasting and fighting pretty much anyone on the seas, especially if he was charged with gathering ingredients for her tea parties._

 _Sailing under a Yonko again would be bliss! Even Blondie realized that it was a smart idea to not become the target of Whitebeard Jr. (not that he wasn't perfectly fine with a good scrap, but he preferred that the odds were more equal than his whole crew against that blood fanatical nutjob!)_

 _He could attend Big Moms' Tea parties! Fancy food and a good time were all great, but as some of his crewmembers kept stressing, the real power of those gathering was because they included the top brass of the underworld! The emperors were almost powerful enough to openly defy a Yonko! To brush shoulders with that bunch he could be bathing in gold within a year._

… _. Not much aside from that_

 _ **Cons**_

 _Blondie really didn't fancy the idea of marriage, especially to one of his cousins' half-sisters. Sure, he assumed they were all, in their own way, pleasant enough once he got to know them, but neither of those he'd met so far (which consisted of Galette and Amande) was attractive to him (he liked a woman with meat on her bones and any man with half a braincell could figure out those were the first to get hitched)._

 _So far, it'd been pretty boring: first he didn't get to fight Strawhat, and then they told him to hide from the marines! Hide… from a bunch of glorified stooges?!_ Sure, he'd had his fair share of fighting against them at marineford, but that was 2 years past, it was time for some more mayhem!

 _Big Mom might kill him over a pancake with whipped cream… or a meringue_ (Whitebeard would never have done that! of that he was certain). As an afterthought, Blondie hurriedly added … _and my pet too!_ With a shudder. He didn't want his little lion cub to suffer, he liked it! And not just because it gave him an awesome epithet, it kept his hat warm too (and dealt with any rat problem they might have on the ship).

To Blondie, the pros and cons appeared to be pretty neck and neck so far (minus the potential for him losing his pet though, that part was unforgiveable).

But lack of action was kind of a big underminer for whatever enthusiasm Blondie could muster for being Big Mom's underling.

As he pondered his current career situation, something made the lion cub on his head slap his cheek.

"Huh? What is it boy? Did you find a little rat?" he halfway cooed at his pet as he held it in front of him, before seeing where the cub was pointing its' paw at something down a side street.

Squinting, Blondie could make out a wagon down there.

Filled with prisoners, with one of then trying to beat the tar out of a someone outside the wagon.

He smiled gleefully as he brandished his swords and stalked forward, telling his men to stay behind, eager to have a little fun before he joined up with his cousin at the docks.

* * *

 **(not far away)**

"Stand still man!"

"Want me to deal with him now?"

"No Zoro, not when we just saved him!" Jinbe responded, holding the arms of Berring, who despite that, tried his best to punch, claw, rake or otherwise injure him "We have to find out what happened here!"

"YOUR FAULT!" the bearded man kept shouting at the duo before ramming a fist into Jinbe's nose. Snorting from the impact, the fishman was almost out of patience. Taking a firm hold on the smaller pirates' arms, he stopped the barrage of fists.

It didn't stop the man from trying to kick him however.

"Be quiet!" Jinbe hissed, whatever patience he had almost evaporated "We don't need more marines around when you're in no condition to fight!"

The sound of sword being drawn, made the former shichibukai stand still, which allowed Zoro to level his sword at the other pirates throat. Berring took the hint and ceased resisting immediately.

"Now…" the greenhaired man began, a scowl dominating his face, the expression immediately butting heads with the one Berring had "… **you** " he nodded at the restrained pirate "are going to tell us what's going on here."

It was a bit of a cliché, but While Jinbe disagreed with his methods, he could see their merit, even if they were rather clumsy and lacked finesse. However, Zoro's actions were still antagonizing a potential ally.

Then he noticed something else.

"Seems we've got company…"

* * *

 **(at the docks)**

"So he's resurfaced, good" the redhaired prince smiled as he nibbled on another of the chefs' tarts, eyeing the den den mushi with gleeful eyes even as the fruit filling drippled from his chin.

"The marines are out in force, if you want to grab them early on…" the voice that emerged from the snail was muffled, as if trying to hide something.

"It doesn't matter when I grab them, the marines will hand them over if I command them to" Ichiji smiled confidently, savouring the taste of the treat and the knowledge that he was right.

"But the Vice Admiral denied your demands when you met… she's being very unreasonable as it is" the voice urged, If Ichiji had cared about the mans' opinions, he might have called it desperate. However, the reminder of the Vice Admirals' insolence was vexing him greatly.

"If that little girl wants to keep her rank, she better learn to obey!" he snarled before gritting his teeth. Behind him, one of the staff members bemoaned having to clean up the crumbs their prince was spewing over the den den mushi (not to mention the carpet and the divan he was lounging in).

"…If anyone wants a Vice Admiral demoted, they'll have to take that up with the Fleet Admiral"

The voice had been more calm than before, still nervous, but now having that _um….actually-vibe_ to it that would make most stop up and grunt in annoyance. Now Ichiji wasn't most people, he was royalty for starters, so he wasn't people at all, but even sovereign rulers and their offspring began to halt and stall when it came to dealing with Akainu. Threats or commands from royalty didn't amount to much for that man (nor had it when Sengoku was in charge of the marines for that matter). It hadn't been so bad since Germa rarely had had to twist the marines' arm, most of the sailors did as they were told… but the higher ups were starting to forget who were _royals_ and who were thrash (or servants, Ichiji had never had a reason to differentiate between the two that much). The prince reasoned it was some sort of poor judgement on their behalf before he abandoned the whole idea.

Grumbling, he addressed the voice again "So I have to do it myself eh?" he snorted, then a smile began to spread over his lips "Not a problem at all, shouldn't take me too long either"

"I'll report if I hear anything Prince Ichiji"

"You do that, or else the Vice Admiral will hear about what's been going on without her leave"

In the short moment before the snail clicked, Ichiji was certain that he could hear a shiver in the man's breath. The thought of the man being afraid of the Vice Admiral was laughable, she was just a woman, and a commoner to booth, no need to get worked up over.

Before he left the ship he decided to bring the den den mushi so he could keep in Contact with his family with the main fleet.

As soon as he had what he wanted (and Strawhat too), he'd be certain to brag to his father about it.

* * *

 **(Out on the streets)**

As he stabbed downward, ending the last of the resistance, Blondie smiled.

 _This is fun!_

The battle hadn't been as long as he would've liked, but at least it got his mood up from all of his pondering.

Looking at the prison wagon he decided to get the pirates out, they might even provide him with a bit of sport.

"Weeeelllll" he drew out the word, savouring the angry look he received in turn, the man struggling in his grasp, trying to strike him with an arm behind his back.

"I haven't seen you since Marineford!" he smiled balefully, his smile reflected in the wrath infused eyes of the man "How ya been ya dumb bastard?!"

* * *

 **(Outside Hannibals)**

"…And I'm telling you, I don't think they'll remain down by the docks" Jolland repeated, his patience wearing thin.

Redcliff had, as always, argued more than was necessary, while combing the streets for any sign of pirates ( _Big Moms_ or the _Strawhats_ , either'd do at this point), looking through any clue as to where any pirate might have gone. That wasn't bad in itself, but it was very time consuming.

 _He might still be feeling that assault from earlier…_ Jolland groaned inwardly as tugged at his green marinecap with a large hand. Tired as he was, the huge man shut his mouth the second the smaller captain started to open his gob again.

"If we'd stayed around the harbour, we would have encountered them eventually"" the reed-thin captain responded with a huff "They have to leave the island at some point and what other way but by ship?" as the thin man grumbled something about wanting to set their ship on fire after what they did to his own vessel, Jolland rolled his eyes and tried his best to ignore him. Just dragging the other captain there had been an ordeal he wasn't prepared to go through again. At least not without a raise (or a trip to the pleasure quarter).

Next to them, the other marines were looking at their feet. Some were tired from being dragged up and down the streets for over hours, as either of the captains countered the others' commands and led them somewhere else. The only one that hadn't dropped over in exhaustion yet, were their prisoner Ain.

Part of Jolland wanted to congratulate her, the other wanted to admonish her for clearly enjoying the two captains bickering as if they were a pair of school children. The rest of Jolland wanted to go back to the base, eat and catch some Z's, dreaming happily about drinking and women… who were dringking!

( _I didn't join the marines to march! I did it to sail, fight pirates, keep the world safe (and eat like a pig till I croak_!))

The bickering back and forth was starting to garner more attention than he'd like too. Most of the shops and café's had closed, with only a few restaurants remaining open for the upper classes. That didn't stop the locals from being out and about, giving the patrol their fair share of amused stares and comments.

"We should go back to the docks"

It had to be the 8th time Redcliff had said that line, Jolland knew what'd happen next, Cliffy would spin around, point downhill and tell them to follow suit immediately (how he did it with a snap each time was almost a mystery).

This time however, the black dressed captain walked straight into a civilian.

"Gah!" Redcliff cried out in surprise, almost losing his footing (he would have, if Jolland hadn't been quick to catch him) as he angrily adjusted his red tricorne hat, a curse on his lips, he looked squarely at the other person.

"Look where you're going, you big…" the scolding died on his lips as he looked at the figure he'd stumbled into.

Jolland had to admit, it wasn't everyday you came across someone that ugly (even in the waning light). But that wasn't what had given the other marine pause.

The look Redcliff received was enough to make paint peel off and paper fold itself into an intricate piece of origami.

Almost instantly the surprised captain straightened his back and addressed the large (but not tall) figure again "well, hurry off then… and don't walk into me again!" the demand had been feeble at best, a redundant attempt at regaining his dignity in front of the seamen.

The figure only kept looking at him, wordlessly forcing Redcliff, and Jolland, to move out of his way.

Jolland straightened his cap as he watched the huge body walk towards the museum, only stopping briefly to look at Hannibals and (he presumed) sigh, before moving on.

" **DID…"** Redfliff stopped abruptly to clear his throat, trying to make his voice less shrill, high pitch and scared "Did you know that one?"

"Nope, can't say I do…"

"If it had been a pirate, we could've arrested him…" the thin captain pondered, a hopeful tone sneaking in

"Cliffy, we can't go arresting people just because you bump into them"

"He was obstructing justice"

"You walked into him!"

In retrospect, Jolland could consider it good that they got something else to bicker about, for 5 minutes at least.

It had stopped when Commodore Durkey happened to stop by them. He quickly split up the two and took Ain from their group, reasoning it'd be better if she was with his patrol instead, while sending them to the docks at double speed.

"Better for him perhaps…" Jolland grumbled under his breath as the patrol began to descend the hill at a brisk pace, just loud enough for only Redcliff to hear.

"Don't…" he snarled "I don't like the guy anymore than you do, but I hate gossip a lot more"

"Not gossip as much as a theory Cliffy… or don't you agree?"

"…Perhaps we should stay near to test your theory then…"

"Really?"

" **After** we've been to the docks"

Jolland sighed, but nodded agreement anyway, hoping that they could get it over with quickly.

* * *

 **(elsewhere)**

"Hey Jinbe!" a high-pitched voice called out happily

"Keep it down Luffy, we're in a bit of a bind here as it is!" the fishman hurried to say, hoping against common sense that his captain would listen.

"Hey Jinbe… what happened here?"

"Hello Nami-san" Jinbe responded before briefly looking around at the scene before them "Well, we got sight of Whitey and her crew here so we…"

"Had some fun for a change" Zoro cut in, his sword still dangerously close to the bearded pirates' throat.

"Weren't we sort of allied with them?!" Nami's tone spoke of outrage, having recognised the man from earlier that day, not that Zoro seemed to care "Get him down!"

"He attacked us! Wouldn't stop howling at us either" Jinbe looked at the man again, as if he was silently forcing him to speak "And I wan't to know wh…."

A groan from the within the prison cart made him stop. A moment later a slender figure pulled themselves out from behind the bars. Although the street bathed the cage in shadows, Jinbe could still recognise them. Heavily bruised and having trouble standing, Whitey Bay had seen better days, but she was alive and conscious, which, to a pirate, was the same as being ready to fight.

"Put Berring down will you? It's been a rough evening…" she groaned, before he legs buckled under her, and the captain landed on the cobblestones with a thud. Not hard enough to lose conscience again, but enough for Jinbe to get concerned.

"What happened to you guys?" Nami said as she helped the bluehaired woman to sit in the doorway of the cage "Were the marines…"

"NO…" Whitey shook her head, rubbing her bruised temple under a strand of her flowing blue hair "Not the marines… got into an argument with Amadob… we had a falling out" she shrugged, then winced and rubbed her shoulder with a groan.

"Why would your underling blame us for that?" Zoro's question was as blunt as his blades were sharp, and Whitey glared at him for a moment before deeming to answer "Amadob gave us some blows… and then some other guy beat both of us to a pulp."

"What other guy?"

"Someone big Strawhat… I don't know more about him than that… he just appeared out of nowhere… used a big bottle with Caesar Clown in it as a weapon…" at this Jinbe couldn't help but notice that Nami had turned a combination of dreadful pale and furious red "…and he wanted to know what we knew about you" she waved a shaking finger at the Strawhat pirates present before shrugging again.

"And what did you tell him?"

"Zoro!" Nami and Luffy said in unison, one because of his rudeness, the other because he was interrupting the story (and Luffy wanted to hear the rest of it).

"After he floored my crew!" Whitey managed through a split lip, her tone more bitter about Zoro's question than the beating "I told him about our meeting. That's it, couldn't exactly tell him anymore than that"

For a moment they assembled group were silent. Then Jinbe spoke "Did your attacker say anything at all?"

They bluehaired woman shrugged "Not really, just that he was interested in erhm…" she sucked her lip, seemingly trying to remember the exact words that had been used "Oh, yeah, I've got it: _That buffoonish dress code inept simpleton,_ ehrm… I think he meant you" she looked sheepishly at Luffy, trying not to offend him. The captain only tilted his head in befuddlement at this, enabling his bluehaired counterpart to continue _"…was going to cause havoc next_. That's all. Then the marines came… beat us some more and put us in irons. The guy got away…Don't know how he did it, they'd blocked the doors just before the lamps got shot and they all stormed in…"

"Good grief, more trouble!" Jinbe raised his arms in frustration, having dropped Berring who swiftly barged through the group to support his captain. The rest had their own reactions to the news: Zoro looked to be pouting over having missed yet another fight, Luffy was fuming at the marines for attacking people that were already wounded and Nami was looking very concerned.

"We heard of a guy who had Caesar Clown a few days ago too! Took him from Big Mom of all people… knew a bit too much for my liking…"

"If you're afraid fishman, you're free to leave the fighting to me" Zoro smiled "When it comes"

"That's not the point" Jinbe grumbled as he pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to banish the urge to punch his nakamas' lights out.

"Yeah Zoro, we've got enough problems already if we're to find Franky-2"

"…What the hell are you talking about Luffy?" the swordsman blurted out, unable to contain his confusion "Has Franky made a miniature version of himself? And what do we need that for?"

"…I assume that Franky-2 is someone connected to Coyle… an old underling maybe?" Jinbe mused, now trying to mentaly quell a headache which, he highly suspected, could fell a Sea King when it emerged.

"Would everyone just shup up for a moment? I need to think this through!"

The trio fell silent as Nami scratched her head while continuously muttering under her breath

"No way we're this lucky…NO FREAKING WAY!"

* * *

 **(not far from them)**

"So you got beaten in a bar fight? By a guy with a _teensy wittle bottle_? That's weak Amadob, really weak!" Blondie scolded the battered captain in his grasp.

"And pathetic too!" one of his men added with a laugh, taunting Amadob with both a mocking smile and jeering smile. The captain in turn, due to basically being covered in bruises, couldn't muster much strength to get at the other pirate (thought the fact that Blondie had him in a vice-like grip would've prevented it).

The story Blondie had been told hadn't managed to rouse any sympathy from the bald captain (attacking an old ally for not other reason that petty misplaced anger tended to have that effect on people).

"But don't you worry" Blondie flashed a wolf-smile at his former comrade, making the crowned man eye him nervously as Blondie pressed him to his chest in a bear like hug, clapping his shoulder conspiringly "I know someone who'll like to hear **all about it** "

* * *

 **(at the other prisoner cart)**

"Lucky about what?" Whitey asked, while simultaneously stopping Berring from bandaging her brow "And what do you want with a dead smuggler anyway?" her face lit up a little "Is it treasure?"

"I wish" Nami muttered (her avarice had gone unsated for far too long), before finally looking up and addressing the rest of the crew "first things first: Luffy, his name is **Francis** not Franky-2, you know Fran said not to anger him!"

Jinbe gave her a confused look at this, but decided against asking any questions ( _Francis and Fran… what the heck?)_ his confusion turned to concern, when he realised that Luffy had been shivering at the mention of the second name.

"Second: he's not an underling of Coyle, **he is Coyle!** "

Jinbe was starting to smirk now, no doubt in his mind that they'd be able to find the old smuggler soon. But there was something about the whole situation that nagged him.

"So he used a fake name eh?" Whitey blurted out, before she snickered, unable to hold back her mirth "No wonder, what a wussy name!"

"Yeah, you might not want to call him that…" Nami began, her voice growing apologetic

"Why not?"

"Well Fran said that…"

"And who's Fran? It's the second time either of you have mentioned that name"

Jinbe finally smacked Zoro over the head, earning him an angry glare from the swordsman, who fortunately took the hint and shut up, rubbing his stinging neck.

"Fran is Coyle's sister" Nami breathed, her shoulders sagging, seemingly resigning herself to the barrage of questions that was going to come, not to mention comments.

"Francis and Fran huh?"

"Yes capn', that were some mighty unimaginative parents" Berring piped in with a coy smile as he dragged another of his crewmates out if the cart, supporting the unconscious man against a nearby wall.

"They're really Francisco and Francesca" Luffy explained with a goofy grin, an odd pride evident on his face.

"Now you remember their names?!" smiling overbearingly at her, Jinbe moved to pat Nami on the shoulder, calming her down a little. _Poor girl must been under a lot of stress since we split_

"Are they alike too?"

"I hope not!" Luffy shivered as he answered Jinbe's question, looking uncharacteristically nervous and pale "I don't want another beating out of the blue like that!"

Jinbe could almost feel the question _can I fight her?_ Forming in Zoro's head at this point.

Much to his relief it wasn't stated (though it still lingered in the air).

Before the fishman could ask why she'd been beating Luffy, Nami held up both hands, waving the question aside "It's just the way she is, I'll explain later, We need to get going, Now!"

Jinbe blinked at her response, not getting what the heck was going on at all, but choosing to comply anyway.

"Whitey-san, can you guys get to safety?"

"Sure we can" the bluehaired captain smiled through her bruises, some pride and cockiness returning "But I'll want an explanation later!"

Giving her a thumbs up as a way of parting,

Jinbe hurried after the three other Strawhat pirates.

Hoping that he'd soon be told what the hell was going on!

He was faintly aware of Whitey yelling something at them from behind

 _And a round for me and the guys too! Perhaps?_

"Did you hear what she said?"

"Nope Jinbe-chan, she didn't make sense to me"

"Nami just doesn't want to pay for their drinking"

"Shut up Zoro" the navigator and helmsman responded in unison as the foursome ran through the streets, once more following the small vivercard in Nami's hand.

* * *

 **(elsewhere)**

"So what if Amadob has some story to tell!" Dacquoise growled as Blondie's underling gave his report.

"enough you winged nuisance" Amande scoffed at the underling "What's this about?"

The pirate that Blondie had chosen as messenger, a middleaged man, round and short, nodded at her as he explained:

"Well ye see mum, tha posh twit got beaten tae a pulp bai sum gae who wa in cahoots with tha daft Sciendisd tha lefd ya capn affer tha hole killin stint wend soud"

Amande looked at him for a moment, trying to fathom his dialect, and his peculiar phrasing and slang "You mean Caesar Clown in on Runny Rum?"

"Ae mum" the man nodded enthusiastically

"Now that is interesting…" she said as she scratched her chin, drawing a long breath on her cigarette

"We need to split up and look for that damn Scientist too now?" Dacquoise moaned, before falling silent a moment later, before a smile dominated his face "I can find him no problem… or…" his smile broadened "Do you want me to take care of Strawhat instead?"

"Better not to give out individual assignments under the current circumstances" Kato stated flatly, the pumpkin headed homie had the look of someone not in the mood for too many details or interruptions. The face of a thug to be exact (Speaking of which)

"We jus bash everthin till we find 'em, oight?" Durum babbled on in his flute like voice, the large gap toothed smile on is face showing his obliviousness to how bad an idea that would be.

"1 that'd attract the marines and 2 if we've learnt anything about Strawhats' crew it is that they run from things! Smashing everything will just alert them to our whereabouts!" Galette explained to the large simpleton, who just scratched his head and asked, confusion dripping from every syllable "If we don bash 'em… ar we inwhiten dem for T Pardy?"

Ignoring Durums' imbecility, Amande could see her sisters' point, but it appeared to her, that Galette seemed to have forgotten something: that Strawhat and his female underling faced both of them and a furious army after defeating Cracker. They might be runners, but that stunt took more guts than could be found in a thousand cowards!

"We need to stay together so that we stand stronger against patrols, marines or pirates" the 16th charlotte daughter urged, a finger raised admonishingly.

Holding up a slender hand, the other held across her chest, Amande silenced the bickering group.

"Listen up, here's what we're going to do…"

* * *

 **(near Hannibals)**

"Nami what's going on?" Luffy protested as the foursome rushed up the hill leaving the neighbourhood with the prison transport and Whitey's crew behind.

"Yeah, there was a third point to my tirade from before" the navigator answered, slightly winded form the run.

"Which is?" Zoro grumbled behind them (Luffy couldn't help but snicker at the swordsmans' situation, Jinbe had elected to make sure that Zoro didn't get lost or steer in some random direction out of the blue, and the constant corrections helmsman were starting to get on the swordsmans' nerves).

"We know Caesar Clown was taken from Big Mom a few days ago…"

"Yes… that person appears to be on Runny Rum now…" Jinbe huffed behind them "They also called someone, telling them that the princesses were with us…"

"Yeah… I'm pretty certain that that **someone** , was Fran…"

"So… you think it was Francis that beat up Whitey?!"

Jinbe wasn't the only one surprised at this revelation, Luffy was starting to feel a cold running down the length of his spine, though he didn't know why yet.

"Yeah… we just might get him early on…" Nami panted as they sped in the direction the vivrecard led them, a bit of hesistance in her voice

"by the way… Fran is Luffy's mom…"

Said captain was still deep in thought, straining to connect all the dots, so he didn't notice when both Zoro and Jinbe did a huge "WHAAAT" in unison, eyes bulging out and staring at him in shock.

This surprise proved just enough distraction for Jinbe, resulting in Zoro running head first down a side alley a split second later.

"I'll get him!" Jinbe grumbled, and with a nod of parting from both Nami and a still pondering Luffy, the large Fishman darted after the speeding swordsman, hopefully before Zoro got impossibly lost in the maze of streets.

"Luffy are you okay?" Nami asked as the pair sped past the still open restaurant (the Rubberman uncharacteristically not stopping to take in the scent of gourmet food).

The captain had gradually gotten more and more redfaced after Nami had explained his uncles' possible role in the whole situation.

 _Franky-2 (or Frapper, or Frantic, or whatever his name is) = Coyle… Coyle = Mom's brother… Moms brother beat up some nice people with that scummy clown… Coyle took him from Big Mom… Mom's brother is in contact with mom… Mom… (etcetera)_

The amount of thinking was starting to give him a major headache and steam escape through his ears.

"Nami… if it really was moms' brother that did that to Jinbe's galpal…"

"Then he's definitely a monster… taking on two new world pirates at once… and having that bastard scumbag to Caesar too…" Nami swallowed, her voice turning soft "I'm sorry Luffy, but I don't think you uncle is a nice person… he might be a crazed violent maniac!"

"That was what I thought…" Luffy said through clattering teeth, not noticing that his nervousness was rubbing off on Nami, whom were giving him a rattled look. The wail of utter and irrevocable despair Luffy let out didn't improve matters either:

" **He's** **just like MOM** **!"**

* * *

 **(in a nearby alley)**

"I've found Strawhat…" the figure said, voice low and on the break of turning into a loud whoop. The voice of a fan that had seen their favourite player enter the game, or the gambler that had seen a way to get their dept out of the way and come out of it richer than a Tenryubito.

"Why aren't we following him then?" another voice asked impatiently "Or are we going to just stand here and watch him and that pirate girl disappear back to the shadows again?"

Grumbling under their breath, the first voice responded, shifting uncomfortably "Obviously we're going to follow them… now hurry before we loose them!"

Then, after a moment of hesitation, the voice added a bitter "You dolt!"

* * *

 **(In the museum)**

Luffy smiled as he entered the place again.

Even if their first _meeting_ with his moms' brother had been a bit of a disaster, it had still been funnier than waiting with the others on the ship, hoping that old lady Nyon would have something that could help Marguerite and Rindo.

 _My cousins_

It was still a weird feeling for him… on Dressblues (or whatever it was called, he could halfway feel someone correct him if he opened his mouth and said it) when Sabo had turned up, alive and well, smiling at him and calling him little brother… he'd been so happy.

That happiness had returned, but in a different way when he'd found out that Rindo and Marguerite were related to him.

He had a larger family than he first thought, and it was giving him an odd sensation in the stomach, like it was about to boil and like he was full (a very rare case for him, except for that one time against Big moms' son…Cranker or something) at the same time.

It was…. Nice.

That was the only way he could describe it, and now he had a chance too make sure his cousins got to live, if he could just convince moms' brother to help them.

He'd been a jerk when they'd met his… ghost, but he'd been helping them too, and even if his uncle _Franklin_ turned out to be just like mom then… well he didn't have a plan aside from telling moms brother what was going on and then have Nami explain it to him again for good measure.

Somehow most things made sense after she, or one of the others, told him.

He didn't know why, it just did.

Even Luffy could figure out, that if it worked for him, why shouldn't it work for others?

But first they'd have to find his uncle _France_.

 _Perhaps that big guy standing over there can help us?_

He was seemingly the only person in the museum, aside from those who worked there, who all seemed more interested in getting home after a very stressful day. The large red suitcase he was dragging along made the pirate captain conclude (feeling a small hint of his headache coming back in the process) the man was a tourist of some sort.

Luffy looked at the man, taking in the bleak watery stare, brick chin, broad mouth (which Luffy envied a little, it could eat more food) pale complexion (that wouldn't be out of place on one of the girls on Sanji's photos, especially those odd ones the chef had been watching more often since it was announced they were going to Wano) and the sweaty look he had that made him resemble some little animal. All wrapped in a robe that could've been used as a sail for the Sunny. The expression on the man didn't change as he turned, halted and stared directly into Luffy's face.

He could only think of one thing when he looked at that man (well, technically two),

The young pirate captain only smiled at the figure as he approached while waving happily.

"Hey snail guy, we're looking for someone, have you seen him?!"

* * *

 **(On the streets)**

Amande smiled underneath her hat.

They'd spotted their targets.

Two of them running around, not far from them.

She knew that Galette would've liked to be there to fight, but they'd been smart and spread out, covering more ground.

Her poor little sister had fortunately managed to squeeze out of having Dacquise in her group. Kato was at least obedient, if a little silent and reserved, the homie neither got in the way of his higherups or try flirt with Big Mom's daughters to advance in the ranks.

A vast improvement from their winged underling…or Durum.

A shiver went up her spine at the thought, proceeding up her long slender neck to make her teeth clatter a little. When they left the hotel, the brute had actually tried to stare down a (squid)mermaid statue (which of course was overtly buxom) for trying to, in his words, stand too still when it's betters (Amande assumed it was her and Galette, hopefully) were present, they should in fear and ready to move at a moment's notice. It hadn't made things better when he'd tried to wrestle the ornament, tearing it off the pedestal. Now the man was carrying the iron statue around like a club.

 _How'd she end up with the idiot of the bunch?_

 _He's strong_ she kept reminding herself, before smiling as she pointed at the duo speeding down the street, which elicited an exited grin across the mans' scarred face

"There Durum, There!" she waited until he understood that he was supposed to watch where she was pointing and not at the finger "Mama will be happy if you beat those two to a pulp, smashy smashy…"

"Smash…" Durum smiled as he slapped the statue into his palm happily, a bloodthristy look emerging in his eyes.

Amande stood back as he started to approach the duo, both too preoccupied with running around outside the museum to see the approaching threat.

"Strong… and a good diversion" Amande smiled as she rolled her shoulders to remove any cramps and warm up a little, not wanting to unsheathe her sword just yet.

But knowing the strength of their quarry, she knew she'd get to use her Shirauo soon.

And to deadly effect no less.

* * *

 **(In the museum)**

The vivrecard in her palm pointed directly towards him, it couldn't be anyone else. No one else was in the area, aside from herself and Luffy.

They'd found their quarry.

Nami couldn't help but look dumbfounded at the man in front of her.

Scratch that.

It was a stretch to call the figure in front of her… _man._

If anything, Luffy's uncle Francisco, the dreaded, reviled and renowned smuggler named _Coyle the_ _Fruit Merchant_ , did not even look human anymore.

When they'd met his echo thanks to director Falco's devilfruit powers, Nami hadn't cared to note that there had been a certain resemblance between the smuggler and her own captain. Slim but not without muscle, blackhaired and a somewhat relaxed dress code.

The slim build they'd shared was lost,

and the black hair too. The man was balder than Nami was greedy (or Brook was perverted).

If anything, Francis looked more like someone had put a loose bathrobe around a small hill of mashed potatoes and somehow managed to stick two thin legs underneath it for support. Nami vaguely remembered that Fran had said her brother _had gotten bigger_ … but she'd never believed that that woman would've made an understatement that humongous! Luffy's maternal uncle Francis looked to weigh at least as much as Franky did, metal and all!

To Nami, there honestly was something vaguely Jinbe-esque about the once infamous smugglers' physique, but where the fishman looked intimidating like only a shichibukai could muster, Francis… did not.

With a pair of runny eyes, the broad mouth of a toad and his left hand tugged into the folds of his robe with the colours and patterns so faded, Nami could hardly tell what it had originally been, not to mention the fact that he was the same height as her (or perhaps an inch shorter), he looked nothing like someone to be feared. The only intimidating thing about him was the potential for others to turn out the same way. He looked ridiculous.

And revolting.

"Hey snail guy, we're looking for someone, have you seen him?!"

Nami starred at Luffy as he approached the pile of a man before them, the vivrecard obviously forgotten, asking for directions…

from the very person they were looking for…

Her exasperation didn't diminish when Luffy turned to her "Nami did you bring moms' brothers' wanted poster?"

"…no…" she responded, too surprised at his oblivious mindset to note that Luffy had a good idea that didn't involve eating or fighting something.

"Aww" Luffy's face dropped instantly, his shoulders sagged as he moaned "Then he can't tell us if he's seen hiiiim!"

In response, the navigator held up the vivrecard in the palm of her hand. The little piece of paper slowly pulled in the direction of the potatomash man in front of the pair.

Nami didn't need to say anything, as even Luffy should be able to put two and two together.

 _Or could he?_

"You're moms' brother?" the captain pointed at the man, who simply starred back, not moving a muscle (if there were even muscle left in his body) "Aww are you going to play the silent game too?"

Cringing at the thought, Nami remembered how hard it'd been to make the echo of Coyle talk when they'd met him/it earlier, and Frans' numerous overtures not to anger him. Somehow, the navigator doubted they should try and blackmail him again ( **authors note:** that was back in chapter 16). Not that it would've helped them in the least, Viola was too far away to be of any help at this point, and Francis ghost-echo seemed to have scared her to silence anyway.

"Strawhat…" the pile began to speak, taking both of the pirates aback. The voice had lost none of it's harshness from their previous meeting, but where it had had a high pitch, the smugglers' voice had gotten bitter and dark, deep and resounding, as if spoken through a cave. It both fit and didn't fit the body it came out of. Perhaps if he had been in a cellar and insisted on holding a speech from down there. What made Nami most uneasy however, was that the mouth wasn't even moving.

"…I do not have time for you now, but I'll agree to a walk and talk" the pile shifted and began to walk towards the smugglers wing, dragging the suitcase behind him and leaving both of them behind.

"Huh?" Luffy looked at the man, supposedly his uncle, waddle away, a look of confusion on the pirate captains' face.

"HEY! Wait up! We've got to talk to you!"

"Walk and talk boy" Luffy's uncle didn't even slow down as he responded, his voice carrying the edge of an annoyed teacher being patient with a particularly slow student, but somewhere the voice of an army drill sergeant snuck in with a gruff "Keep up" the finality of the voice gave Nami a sad feeling that he had more than a touch of his sisters' explosive temper.

The navigator gave him a confused look before she and Luffy followed the former smuggler through the hall, past cabinets filled with old reconstructions of former pirate captains' uniforms (making her internal fashionista cringe at how outdated they were) and weaponry.

 _Of all lukewarm meetings!_ Was all she could think as the _pile-man_ , to her surprise, swiftly made his way to the almost destroyed wing.

As soon as they entered, they were greeted with an only partially cleaned (and half demolished) room. Plenty of Francis' old notes were still on the floor, but the vast majority had been collected in boxes, leaving the remainder to occasionally blow around freely, courtesy of the hole in the wall barely being covered up with boards, revealing that plaster and wooden beams that made up the entire structure. Busted glass cabinets had been emptied and the contents strewn over several tables. Bent plaques, bullet riddled drawings and bits of the two statues covered the floor. Though mostly, it was bits of stone that covered the floor, the statue of Vice Admiral Hoodie had been easy to shatter by the bullets the marines had put into it. Trying, in vain to deal with the pirates that, scant hours before, had hidden behind the makeshift barricade.

The statue of Francis himself, the gaudy one of gold and precious gems, had been damaged, but hadn't broken like the other one had, instead it had been riddled with small craters, making it resemble desert sand right after a heavy rain.

Nami decided to leave the chatting to the uncle and nephew due as she tried to pry some precious stones of Francis statue.

She regretted it fast

"Hey, You've got to come with us!"

"No" was all the pirate captains' uncle had to say, not even breaking stride or shifting, only, Nami presumed, looking the room over, not revealing any interest or even happiness at the mess of old notes and paraphernalia from his glory days or the damage from their previous visit.

 _Not into nostalgia that one…_ Nami pondered, watching the man waddle over to a crate and examining the contents.

"Umm" she began "You mentioned talking… Coyle-san?" _What are we supposed to call you anyway? So many names for one guy!_

"And neither of you did so" the big figure responded with a cavernous scoff, not bothering to turn around and address her properly. His attention was obviously on the box's contents.

"You walked too fast _Fraggle_ " Luffy responded out of the blue "You got to come with us, Now!"

"No"

Nami sighed "Listen, you might not know this…"

"I already know why you're here"

Both pirates were startled at the response, especially because Francis still hadn't turned to look at the pair. Still rifling through the papers in the box, one hand still tugged into the folds of his robe.

 _Of course he does…_ Nami reasoned, thinking of all the things he'd figured out about them (and passed off to Luffy's mother for some reason) _I have to find out how he did that anyway..._

"You want my help…" still the man hadn't turned around, bending over another box on the table.

"Yes, we're kinda in a hurry so…"

"Fran spoke, I assume?" the question was more of a statement and still he hadn't turned around, instead continuing to flip through the papers. When he was done, Francis simply put it atop the other one and began to go through a third at an increased pace.

"Yeeeeaaaaah…" Nami dragged it out, sheepishly. The man in front of her gave her the creeps. Something about him felt truly off… an unsettling feeling in her stomach, the sort of feeling she got when a storm was about to go off out of the blue, but not something she could recognise by reading the clouds and temperatures, instead the feeling originated in her gut.

The fact that the man knew perfectly well what was going on and still didn't as much as bat an eyelid, focussing instead on the tiny detail of his sister disobeying him, was as flabbergasting as his appearance.

 _Who the heck cares that Fran told us about your whereabouts, despite your obviously strict demands that she shouldn't? your daughters lives are at risk!_

Nami was starting to agree with Luffy that his uncle had some of his sisters' more unpleasant traits, like an unreasonable/crassness streak a mile wide.

"What's so important in those notes since you're ignore us?" Nami blurted out, outraged at the man and anxious to get going as fast as possible.

She was surprised when the pile-man answered with a simple and ominous:

"Secrets…"

"Ooooh like a surprise?"

"FOCUS Luffy!"

"Listen to your navigator Strawhat" the pile added, still not deeming either a glance, focussing completely on his old notes and papers.

"…Yeah, what he said" Nami reluctantly agreed with the man, much to her surprise.

"Okay…" Luffy slumped his shoulders with a pout before almost immediately bouncing back with a loud: **"You got to come with us!"**

"No" the man responded flatly. Nami was reminded of a stone not giving a damn that a storm was about to hit it (given the speed Luffy could launch punches (and his uncles' looks), it seemed a fitting metaphor).

"…Sir, it's really important you come with us" the navigator reasoned, hoping that a polite response would help smooth things over, Frans' constant warnings against making Francis mad bearing heavily on her mind. _Can't have you disappear for 20 years over some little insult… Rindo and Marguerite doesn't have that long… and Luffy'd never forgive himself if that happened… or_ _ **you**_ _for that matter._

"I'm aware of your predicament and I will help" the man reassured them, though his voice sounded anything but supportive, a humanoid answering tone could sound more pleasant than him.

" **After** I've figured out what it is the foolish marines have found in my old notes"

Luffy blinked with his arms folded, a rictus grin appearing on his face "Can't that wait? You can come with us now and you can come back later"

Not for the first time, Nami was surprised when Luffy said anything sensible, but the captains' uncle didn't miss a beat in responding.

"That's the problem Strawhat, the marines can glimpse more from the notes in the meantime, and I don't' want' them to, best deal with it now before that happens"

"What is it you're looking for anyway?" Nami looked, or tried to, past the piles' wide body, glancing the notes in his hand

"What they've found so far…" the former smuggler replied with his calm cave-voice, yet there was an edge to the tone that belied some sort of uncertainty "It's strange… nothing of this should give them a clue… but they bragged in the newspaper about how they'd restored some of my notes…"

"Couldn't that be that girl?"

Nami gave her captain a puzzled look, then remembering who else they'd seen on the island "Yeah, it could be that marine woman"

"What woman?" Finally Luffy's uncle turned to face them, glassy eyes feeling like he looked straight through them (and the air in front of the pair, but not at them).

"A marine, Ajin or something…" Nami began to explain, only for Luffy to highjack the exposition

"She once turned Nami, Chopper and Brook into kids!"

While Nami whacked the rubberman over the head with the back of her hand, the pirate captain's uncle looked at them in silence, seriousness emanating off him like heat from a stove (or sparkles from one of Franky's new haircuts).

"A marine with the Devil fruit ability to turn back time… to when something was young…" the conclusion was slow, the tone angry and the stony expression the man had going was more than a little unnerving, like a regular person that had a hard time holding in a major temper tantrum. Fortunately, the man didn't seem to want to unleash it on Nami and Luffy. It was all reserved for the marines.

"Yeah, though Brook didn't get turned into a child" Nami commented _though he is a huge baby normally_ "it turns back time for something… about a decade perhaps, too many touches and you'll turn into a baby… or worse" she gulped, still a bit afraid that it'd happen again.

"And that girl is here and helping the marines?"

Both Nami and Luffy nodded in unison

"Now that could be very problematic" Francis growled. It was the only thing about him that gave any indication to his mood, his face hadn't changed in the least.

"Those notes are over two decades old… either the girl had improved since you met her… or, She had help…."

"Look, she won't be a problem if we just get off the Island" Nami argued staunchly, hoping the man would listen to reason "Besides, if you just hide or take your notes with you, then the marines will never find out whatever secrets you've got"

For a moment Nami thought that it had sunk in, then the pile spoke "Not good enough, best way to make certain is to kill the girl, what does she look like?"

* * *

 **(in the town)**

Jinbe barely had time to block as something big barrelled into him with enough force to ram through a ships' hull.

Slamming into the side of a building he was soon buried in debris, the crash and crack of mortar and stone filling his ears, while dust clogged his gills and eyes.

Even as he coughed, his haki was telling him that whatever had charged him was not done, going straight through the rest of the house like the fishman would if it was water.

Digging himself out, he could hear the clash of steel.

Wiping his eyes, Jinbe wasn't surprised to see Zoro, all three swords out (why the man like to have one between the teeth would never cease to puzzle him) trying to force back another blade.

A blade he knew well.

Hell, everyone bar a Yonko or their commanders knew to fear that blade.

And its wielder.

Charlotte Amande might not be on par with the sweet commanders or the shichibukai, but the womans' swords(wo)manship was second to none in the Big mom Pirates (Jinbe had a nasty feeling that her skills were at least equal to her sister Smoothie's).

As ever the long necked third daughter of Big Mom didn't smile, only puffing ominously on her cigarette as she almost effortlessly pressed Zoro back.

A crash behind him made Jinbe turn and realise that the juggernaut from before was returning, intent on finishing the job.

Jumping out of the way, the former shichibukai barely avoided two fists the size of hams slam into the rubble, reducing it to dust and gravel.

He instantly knew his opponent.

"Durum I presume" he took up a stance, eyeing the rodent like face of the huge bruiser, knowing full well the man wouldn't back down even when his ribs were shattered. It was strange how stupid people (including Jinbe's new captain) had that stubborn quality in common.

"Actually, it's Dacquoise" another voice called out.

Jinbe narrowly avoided the attack from above dodging to the side as the smaller mans' heel descended from above him.

"From behind Devilman? Not very impressive and highly honourless…" Jinbe scolded, his fist making a jab at the air above his foes head, narrowly missing him, but blowing one of the man's dreadlocks clean off. Jinbe knew who he was, he knew all three of them, one daughter of Big Mom and two nasty underlings, but at least none of them favoured long range weapons.

"Who cares where the attacks' from, as long as I take you do…"

He didn't get to say more as the water droplets that Jinbe moved from before, sent him flying straight across the street, breaking a merchants' stall to kindling. The blow wasn't enough to make the winged pirate stay down however, as he angrily tossed the remains of the stall to the side, stumbling as he got to his feet.

His comrade wasn't late to capitalize on the diversion, trying to catch Jinbe in an unbreakable bearhug.

Jumping to the side again, Jinbe launched a fist into the bloke's side. Even with enough force to rival a rocket, all the blow did was make him cough and swing his arm wildly at Jinbe. Drawing on his training, the fishman easily diverted the swing and launched a fist into Durums' face.

Feeling his knuckles connect, Jinbe concluded that he'd at the very least broken the man's nose, but that wasn't enough to stop the behemoth from charging him again. Albeit his opponent was no where near the league of Oven or some of Big Mom's executives, Jinbe knew he'd had a hard time just beating him unconscious. That Dacquoise was ready for another assault would be another delay to the fishman's schedule.

He risked a quick glance at the two swordwielders, not being all that happy when he heard Zoro's voice above the din of his own opponents grunting and the screeching steel of four colliding swords.

"Three against two… I thought you had enough men here to make it a fair fight?"

"Bold words from someone who has yet to make a cut, even with three swords in play" Amande countered, disengaging from her duel with the former bounty hunter, placing her blade behind her head, ready to swing it at her opponent.

"Zoro, avoid her blade! Don't try and block it"

Albeit reluctantly, the green haired swordsman did as Jinbe told him and ducked out of the way.

Amande's long sword slashed at empty air, the sheer force behind it sending out an air wave that cleaved straight through the building in front of her, six meters in front of her.

The air wave didn't stop there either.

It was coming straight for Jinbe too!

Jumping above the deadly attack, Jinbe had, despite part of him finding it dishonourable, hoped that one of his opponents wouldn't get out of the way.

But either of the two pirates ducked under the wave.

Risking another glance at Zoro, Jinbe smiled as the swordsman took the opening that was provided "You're wide open!"

Aiming to catch the slender woman in a scissor attack between the swords in his hands, Zoro was shocked to realise that the woman was spinning slowly above him, carried off by the force of her previous attack, yet somehow still too fast for him to react.

" _Slow Pirouette_ "

"Damn Amande-san! I didn't know you could fly!" Dacquoise looked at her in shock and awe, amazement evident on his face.

"It helps having a good wide hat" the woman replied with a scoff, before slamming her shoe straight into Zoro's face, sending the man reeling backwards a small trail of blood in the air.

Jinbe winced at the sight, when they made their escape, he didn't cherish the idea of hearing Zoro complain that he'd gotten a nose-piercing by a high heel.

But that had to wait, for now the Fishman had slowed down enough for him to use some fancy moves of his own. Making the most of it, he barrelled off the side of a building, descending towards Durum with a haki coated fist held before him.

He didn't dodge.

Hitting the man with the force of a meteor, Jinbe used his opponents head to make a small crater in the street, the impact kicking up dust and sending cobblestones through the air as if someone had made a cannonball in a pool. The tremendous sound of the crash had rattled even Jinbe's teeth.

Rising up Jinbe looked at the other opponent he had acquired "Think you can take me?"

The shiver that went through the man told him everything.

"Doesn't matter what you think" Jinbe shrugged "I've gotta end this quickly"

Meanwhile Amande had landed, and was in the process of driving a, now infuriated, Zoro backwards, down the hill and away from Jinbe.

Even as Jinbe turned to rush towards his ally, he felt a hand grasp his ankle

"What the… how're you STILL conscious?!"

* * *

 **(In the museum)**

"WHAT?!" both Nami and Luffy said in unison

"Killing the girl is better and more effective than letting her remain at large, now give me a description."

"But that could take all night!"

"5 minutes at most Strawhat, the girl isn't Big Mom and unlike you and that accomplice of yours, I wouldn't make a mess of it, now, the girls' height, hair colour, any specific features at all." the pile looked expectantly at them, silently demanding an answer.

While Nami chuckled nervously, her eyebrow quivering, Luffy was about to lose his temper and strike at his uncle (presumably only being stopped by the thought of the man being exactly like the captains' mother stayed his hand).

He still cracked his knuckles though. Licking his lips, he took a deep breath

"Why are your secrets so important anyway?"

"If the Marines figured out what I had been doing back then, well, it'd put the entire New World in disorder, Paradise too… where you've made more than a few friends I recall, the little princess Vivi for example… or Drum Kingdom"

"What problems?" Nami demanded, eyeing the pile with worry "And how's that related to Vivi"

"The kind that'd threaten the peace of the entire region"

"So? That's not Vivi's problem"

"It will be soon enough, she didn't mention that her father is dying I presume? The second he's gone, all his responsibilities would be hers" Nami paled at his words, Luffy blinked.

"So, I suggest that you tell me exactly, what I want to know, so we can get going"

"Wait!" Nami blurted out hurriedly "How do you know about Cobra-sans health anyway?"

"Espionage" Luffy's uncle responded bluntly, while surprisingly looking at her.

"Can't you just use some espionage to find out what the marines know about your secrets?" Luffy argued impatiently, his reservations beginning to evaporate, having half a mind to punch his uncle _Froyles_ lights out.

"There's no time for me to be gentle about this Strawhat" the pile snarled, whipping his head to glare at Luffy "It's getting rid of one problem, before a thousand taking its' place!" his uncle argued, keeping his nephew fixed with a watery stare.

Luffy was just about to punch the man, but something stopped him:

"Let's start by removing **TWO,** shall we?"

At the sound of the strangers' voice, Luffy turned around, looking straight at the marine they'd been discussing a moment prior, arms outstretched and rushing towards them.

Remembering the woman's powers, Luffy grabbed Nami's hand and pulled her to the side, narrowly avoiding the womans' touch.

Meanwhile Luffys' uncle had jumped backwards evading the bluehaired marines hands out of sheer reflex.

"Dammit woman can't you do anything right?" the voice growled.

Luffy looked and saw a stoop backed marine that stood in the opening of the room.

"Then perhaps you shouldn't have pushed me like a dog!" the bluehaired girl shot back "or shouted out some lame battle-quip that warned our targets…" she gave Luffy' uncle a confused look "And this… ci-vi-li-an…." She drew out the sentence, squinting her eyes at the man, unsure what it was she was looking at.

At least that was what Luffy thought she was doing. In truth he had more important things to think about.

"He's probably their accomplice, a contractor of some sort!" the green dressed marine sneered "We can dispose of the freak without a problem"

"Hey, don't call him a freak! We need him to…" Luffy began, only for the female marine to jump towards him as he was preoccupied. Almost at the same time, Nami stepped forward, warding off the other woman's touch with a spin of her old clima-tact.

"Thanks Nami" Luffy smiled gratefully, giving the orangette a thumbs-up before trying to speak some sense into his uncle. The navigator didn't smile back, her undivided attention being focussed so hard on the other woman in the room that it might've made the bluenette spontaneously combust. Luffy presumed she really didn't want to be turned into a kid like last time they'd met her (he didn't want it to happen to himself either for that matter, Luffy really didn't like it when that had happened after he used his gear 3 form back in Paradise).

"So, I presume that is the girl the marines have used?"

"Oh, come on, you can't mean that you sti…"

Nami stopped talking almost as soon as she'd started, bolting backwards to avoid being grappled by her opponent.

A swift strike with her staff sent the bluehaired woman back towards the other marine.

Shaken but not defeated, the former neomarine rubbed her bruised temple, scowling at everyone in front of her, her eyes warily darting back and forth between the trio.

"A little help here!" she grumbled, shooting a deathly stare over her shoulder at the other marine

"Your abilities should be more than enough to deal with those two!" the man snarled back at her "Especially if you hadn't bungled that ambush before! Their backs were even turned!"

Scoffing at him, the bluenette looked at her three opponents "What did that other one…" she briefly looked at pile-man with something approaching nervous disgust "…mean?"

"Was that the girl? A simple _yes_ is sufficient you know" for some instinctive reason Luffy gulped as his uncle looked at him, his unnatural eyes making him feel uneasy, the older mans' annoyed tone wasn't helping either: "Or is that question too advanced for you?"

"Could you focus _Faffle_?"

"…At least try and get his name right Luffy…" Nami sighed next to him, while keeping her eyes plastered to the two marines.

The male marine watched them intently, before bluntly concluding "He must be some contact to the underworld!" He pointed at the pile of a man "Deal with him too, Ain!"

"That's good enough for an answer" Luffy's uncle responded, grabbing the table in one hand and in the next moment, effortlessly flinging it at the two marines.

Luffy felt a twinge of pity for the two, as the furniture whooshed through the air and collided with the doorway, splintering against the walls, both marines narrowly avoiding the makeshift projectile. The woman rolled under it, while the man yelped in surprise and panic, diving for the floor.

Ain, the female marine, didn't get time to catch her breath, as a heavy foot came stomping down on her. Rolling again she starred at the spot where she'd been a fraction of a second before.

The stone tiles had cracked on impact.

Glaring up at her assailant she mouthed a curse before rolling away from Coyle's fist, thundering towards her. Off to the side, the other marine was howling for reinforcements, cursing them for not coming faster to "Fill those bastards with Bullets!"

"Oi let's get going _Frapper!_ " Luffy ranted at him trying to draw his attention away from the prone marine, let alone those that his haki showed him coming down the hall. _Not that many though…_

"At least try and get my name right Strawhat! A certain someone should have mentioned it several times!" the pile responded angrily before turning his attention back to the marine woman who was scrambling to get away from him.

Luffy scratched beneath his hat, not sure who he meant "You mean mom?"

The pile stood still instantly.

Then turned.

Behind Luffy, he could feel Nami cringe at the approach of the man.

When his uncle stopped in front of him, Luffy was just about to repeat his question when he felt part of his face hit the floor with a smack.

As most of his faces' left side returned to normal, it didn't take Luffy long to realise what had happened, mostly because Nami gasped "Don't slap him!"

The pile in front of him ignored her, looking intently at Luffy with eyes that would make the sun blink, his voice, once subterranean, had gotten a deeper, darker tone, with fast and insistent words. It was a voice that gave orders "Do not mention my sister, not when there's marines and other enemies around, now I have to dispose of the other one too!" the pile had glared down at Luffy as he spoke, making the whole scene resemble one man in front of a hill or a dune that was about to collapse on him and the captain briefly had to check that his uncle wasn't tiptoeing to do so.

 _Did he grow taller out of the blue?_

Luffy shook his head, dismissing the thought, _he can't stretch like me… can he?_

The pile had turned back to the marines, both of whom were eyeing him warily, both scrambling backwards to get away from the approaching figure.

"Oh come on Fable" Luffy tried to reason, somehow still forgetting that his Uncles' name was Francis(co) "You know she'll get so furious, if we don't get you!"

At the mention of his sister, the hill of a man turned around, raised a finger and was seemingly about to lecture Luffy, when the captain suddenly darted to the side.

Strawhat Luffy only had his observation haki to thank, as the swordslash had almost cut him.

"Hey watch out!" he yelled at the newly arrived marine, who to his surprise, was someone he'd already met.

Jaw set in determination that mirrored her eyes, the marine held her blade in a guard position, shielding the two underlings behind her.

"Vice admiral Gion!" both of the stricken marines yelled in relief, happy to have gained reinforcements at last. The woman had arrived at the head of a group of marines, who, even to Luffy, seemed more than capable of fighting back. Next to him, Luffy could feel his navigator grit her teeth nervously as twelve of the marines swarmed into the room, about half (which to Luffy was 7-8) levelling rifles at the duo.

The young Vice Admiral scoffed at the first marines to arive "You should've known better Durkey, you couldn't take these two down on your own" her eyes not leaving Luffy and Nami as she spoke.

"If Ain had done her job, they'd be children now and…" the green dressed marine responded, his joy swiftly turning to bitter fury

"AND WHAT? You'd have beaten them? Sent a pair of kids before a judge who'd have sent them to Impel Down? Is that what you'd have done Commodore?" Gion snarled at him

"…yes…" the commodore responded sheepishly, his voice low and mousy.

Steeling her resolve and with narroweyes, the vice admiral stared down the two pirates before her, not paying much heed to the third, larger, person in the room.

"Strawhat, Cat Burglar…" she eventually said, starring them both down with a smouldering leer "If you surrender, then I'll make sure…"

"You almost cut my hat!" Luffy yelled at her, pointing furiously at the headwear in his hand.

"…I barely nicked it Strawhat!" Gion said, giving him a confused look "Now surrender or…"

She didn't get to finish her sentence as the one person she'd ignored, swung his suitcase at her head.

Raising her sword at the last second, dark with Haki, Gion deflected the equally dark suitcase with a screech as the steel met the leather-covering of the impromptu weapon.

Ramming the butt of the sword-handle into the shoulder of her sudden assailant, the woman pushed the larger man away, towards the middle of the devastated room.

"Now, sir, I think you need to calm down and…"

"No" was all the response Luffy's uncle gave, speeding off towards his first targets, the prone Ain.

Raising his suitcase high above his head, he intended to bring it down on the defenceless bluehaired woman, no doubt shattering her to bits.

Then something happened.

A small tornado of pinkish leaves surrounded the old smuggler, flying furiously around him, obstructing his vision.

Within the whirlwind the Vice Admirals sword flashed around him menacingly, threatening to cut him if he made even the slightest movement.

Luffy was dumbstruck before a wide smile burst forth on his face "WHOOOOOAAAAUWWWW!" he yelled excitedly with stars in his eyes "Cool! We gotta tell the others about this later Nami!"

"It's not cool, if it's someone, who wants to imprison us Luffy!"

Then the smugglers' suitcase descended, dark with haki causing the logia fruit to turn back into flesh, leaving the Vice Admiral targetable.

Still the woman didn't give up, her sword held over her head, one hand on the back of the blade to support it against the suitcase.

For a brief moment the two stood there, the descent of the luggage stopped and the pair of combatants eyeing each other intensely, neither willing to give ground.

But even Luffy could see that one of them would have to.

Grunting, the Vice Admiral struggled to hold the blade aloft, as the larger man still pushed it further down. As the pair stood so closely, the rest of the marines couldn't shoot for fear of hitting their superior, instead holding Luffy and Nami at bay, preventing them from helping the large man.

Eventually Gion went to one knee with a grunt, sweat running down her brow.

In the next moment, the woman, with a show of strength that amazed Luffy, got to her knees and aimed a powerful kick into the mans' abdomen sending him back towards Nami and Luffy, eventually standing next to his nephew, Nami guarding the other side.

The former smuggler didn't even flinch or cough at the attack. Only looking at her with that dreadful dead stare.

"The Hasu Hasu no Mi…." was all he said, his voice sounding tired and hollow "…how pathetic"

"Aww come on _fubble_ , that move was awesome!" Luffy protested, ignoring the sound of Nami trying to quell the urge to bat him over the head.

"Thank you very much Strawhat" the Vice Admiral did a small curtsy, still not letting her guard down, despite the small confident smirk grazing her lips "But all three of you are still under arrest". Behind her one of the Marines was helping the bluenette and the greendressed marine up, handing the latter a small pistol as he did so.

"You are being charged with repeated counts of piracy, attacking marines, assault, vandalism…"

"Strawhat, if you are going to call me anything, at least stick to one mispronunciation" the large figure turned to him, ignoring the, now furious, female Vice Admiral (Luffy knew that expression all too well, Nami had had it many times when they had somehow lost the chance to get treasure).

"Ok uncle" he responded with an oblivious smile and a thumbs up "I couldn't remember all your names all that good anyway"

The marines all cocked an eyebrow at this, some even muttering "Those two can't possibly be related…" ending with an almost fearful "Can they?"

"Not that Strawhat" the man responded with what sounded like a tired sigh

"But aren't you? I mean you are moms' brother… right?"

Why Nami groaned as he asked the question, Luffy didn't know, nor the glassy stares the Marines were sending him, their eyes whipping back and forth between the pirate captain and the former smuggler in rapt disbelief.

His uncle just stood there. Looking at Luffy in a manner that was all too much Like Nami when she was being patient with his stupidity.

Then he spoke, his voice low, slow and tired, which made his intentions sound more like an inconvenience than a challenge.

"Very well… now, I have to kill everyone in the room…"

* * *

 **(In the museum, further down the hall)**

At the sound of crashing and the running of feet, they duo had dived off to the side.

Moments later they'd seen over a dozen of marines storm down the hall towards the smugglers wing.

Lastly a couple of stragglers stumbled their way after the larger group, huffing and puffing in exhaustion. Before keeling over to the side.

Helped along by a little devilfruit shenanigans, they wouldn't rise again.

Dragging them off to the side, they decided to wait and see when it was best to strike again.

* * *

 **(On the streets)**

"Really what is it that makes you come back up?!" Jinbe growled as his opponent, the brute of a man, once again standing up as if he'd only tripped over his own feet.

"Tha Kadagui-Dietd!" he bellowed proudly before assaulting the fishman again, forcing him back while the other one with the wings aimed a punch at his back.

"Donuts an tee an no' leavn any left-owas!" the bucktoothed juggernaut continued, gnashing his incisors as he pressed his assault.

It shamed Zoro that he couldn't aid Jinbe, but the woman he was dealing with was a tough nut to crack.

Even as he tried his Rengoku Oni Giri (purgatori ogre cutter) he couldn't bypass that woman's defence. In return, her strikes were driving him backwards like there was no tomorrow. The blueskinned woman was a far different opponent than that squeaky voiced underling of Doflamingo had been, and he could meld with the freaking stones!

This one was just strong, and, what was actually bad from Zoros' perspective, far more vicious that what he was used to. Sure, racist fishmen and crazed monsters from a mad scientist was bad, but they lacked a specific quality, that infectious feeling that he might actually die. When he'd trained under Mihawk there had been times when he thought the training would kill him, but not because his teacher wanted him dead, that was never the case. This was so different, this one saw Zoro as he saw most other opponents, like meat for the chopping block, but without assuming she'd improve by winning over him. The thought that he was outmatched, and his opponent could back it up so easily, made him grit his teeth tighter around his favourite sword.

Deflecting another of the longnecked woman's strikes, Zoro ducked under the blade to try and use the opening, only to almost loose his eye to the swords' guard as it sliced over his cheek.

The damn fish-shaped thing had edges as sharp as Nami's wit when it came to money. And the woman willingly used it against him.

"Slow Pravo" was all the woman said, not even cracking a smile as Zoro's cheek began to bleed swiftly colouring his face red in the pale light of the rising moon. That was another thing that irked him. The woman's complexion and the moonlight made her appear almost ethereal, and a big part of Zoro knew that if either Usopp or Chopper saw her, they'd scream so loud that it'd wake up half of the Grand Line (Even Brook would be terrified of facing that ghostly thing).

Zoro had just enough time to put up his swords in an x-shaped guard before the blue woman's blade could cut off his head.

This whole thing wasn't something he'd win in a heartbeat.

 _Good_ he thought as he dug in his heels to push back the forceful woman, _I've gotten complacent after all those easy victories anyway!_

* * *

 **(In the smugglers wing in the museum)**

After Luffy's uncle had uttered that disturbing sentence Nami had given him a nervous stare.

 _Does he ever decide_ _NOT_ _to kill people?_

"Come on Uncle!" Luffy complained at the large man "We've got to get out of here!"

"AFTER I've silenced all of these fools" the pile responded with an offhanded gesture at their opposition.

The marines were naturally not going to let that happen. All those armed with guns pointed them menacingly at the large man (and to Nami's horror, at her and Luffy too, even if her captain was bulletproof (and, thankfully, would jump in front of her at a moments notice), it wasn't much of a reassurance).

"Last chance" Gion tried again, looking angrily at the trio "Surrender and…"

"Shoot the big one!" the greendressed commodore yelled off to the side, puling the trigger on his pistol.

He was the only one that did so. The other marines kept their cool and awaited orders from their higherup, the Vice Admiral, who, to Nami's relief, was more interested in taking them alive (way better than the captains they'd run into earlier on this adventure ( **authors note** , that was back in chapter 3)).

The bullet was way off.

Instead of hitting the large man, it struck Luffy in the arm, and thanks to his rubber physique it was returned to sender a moment later, hammering into the commodore's shoulder, sending him down with a howl of pain.

Even above the din of his bellowing screams and complaints that no one followed his lead, Francis dry voice was loud and clear: "Well, now we just need the rest of the marines to be as stupid, shouldn't take long"

"Strawhat, kindly ask you uncle not to escalate the situation further" The Vice Admiral demanded calmly, her tone turning harsh as she looked over her shoulder to the stricken man "Durkey, if you disobey my orders again, **and** survive…" she paused letting the words sink in "…I'll have you either demoted to seaman or court martialled."

The commodore stopped his wailing to stare at the Vice Admirals' back in a silent panic, his face turning sweaty and as pale as a sheet. To Nami the idiot resembled a tub of curdled milk more than a man at this point, but she knew that she'd look very similar sooner rather than later, if they couldn't get Luffy's mad uncle to listen to reason for a change.

"Hey uncle, let's just get going, we don't have time for this!"

"Strawhat, the objective that you want my help for isn't going anywhere, so yes, I have the time"

"Could you two get serious?" Gion scolded the pair "We're outnumbering you, and even if you can reflect a bullet doesn't mean that we'll just go down without a fight!"

"Down isn't necessary" Francis scoffed condescendingly at her "You can be showed to the side, stabbed, be punched up in the air, suffocated or forced through each other, it doesn't matter, you just need to die"

More than one of the marines swallowed nervously at the last example, giving the large man a shaken look, after which they'd look back at the Vice Admiral, who, after narrowing her eyes at Luffy's uncle, sighed "You really want it this way then?"

"It's not about wanting little marine" the former smuggler retorted matter-of-factly, not even bothering to shrug at the Vice Admiral as she turned ever more agitated at the rotund man "It's about requirements and necessities"

"If you think it's necessary to destroy, when you can choose a better way, then you're in need of help" Gion expression as she gave her spiel to the old smuggler, seemed to imply that help included a trip to the gym (to loose weight, not to build muscle, the Vice admiral had taken note that he did not need more of that).

Which one of the marksmen behind her picked up on.

"You could require less lunches fat man!" he mocked from behind his gunbarrel "Like skip out on the meat and go for a salad instead!"

Both Luffy and his uncle fell instantaneously silent, turned to the sniper, and simply starred at the man for a moment, Francis with his colddead glasslike eyes and Luffy with his pitch black ones, making the man visibly nervous. Then both spoke in unison, making the following cacophony of sound appear as if an orchestra was trying to play _Binks Sake_ and a funeral march at the same time, while also cleaning their instruments with steel brushes.

" **Salad**! What sort of heretic spawned you?"

"You can never say _no_ to meat!"

"Have you no sense of what a meal is composed of boy? Entrée, fish, soup, main dish with meat! Cheese and then desert. Imbecile!"

"And meat for every part of it"

"What sort of barbarian wants a salad only?"

"Yeah, what sort?!"

If Nami hadn't been preoccupied with being afraid of the dozen plus marines in the room, she might've snickered.

 _Oh good god of greed in you palace of gold, jewels and gilded beli (which I'm gonna steal when I find it)…. They're… actually._ _Bonding. Over. Food_ _! Pffffft! Why am I not surprised?_

After having met the _ghost_ of Francis past, hearing Fran's description of her shortfused brother and then meeting the apathic single-minded present-day version, Nami had honestly had her doubts that Luffy and he were related in any way. Those doubts were now laid to rest, as the nephew-uncle duo proceeded to verbally trash the poor marine into oblivion. Over eating meat (and eating in general). _They're definitely related… if we get him for dinner Sanji is going to get traumatized..._

 _Good._

She smiled inwardly at the last one, still not having forgiven the chef for his actions while they were in Tottoland.

Amongst the marines, silent confusion reigned while their targets ranted some more at the poor man.

"WOULD YOU TWO BE SILENT?"

For a moment, they were, then Francis responded to the Vice Admiral "Don't you know it's rude to interrupt?"

"Surren…" _and be taken into custody_ , was what Nami envisioned the woman saying, but Francis had already moved, Luffy not a heartbeat behind him.

The Vice Admiral moved like a snake, trying to both avoid the hook that the rotund smuggler aimed at her temple, and get out of the marksmen's line of sight, allowing them to fire.

Ducking under the blow, the woman was immediately surprised that the huge pile of a man had lifted his leg for a kick as well.

Scattering in a storm of pinkish petals, the female marine avoided that as well.

Not only had she defended against the mans' attack, she had left him open and the marksmen fired directly at him.

Not a single bullet hit.

Luffy had gotten in between and the bullets almost immediately flew back at gunmen.

Having learnt their lesson from before the marines had quickly ducked out of the way.

The pirate turned around with an angry tone

"Hey uncle, we gotta go!"

"Strawhat, cease calling me **that** and don't get in my way" the man stormed forward almost running the Strawhat captain over as he rammed into the disorganised marines. A humongous, vicious bowling ball against a dozen poor defenceless pins.

"Why won't he listen?" Nami shook her head at the mans' behaviour as she went to help Luffy up, _he's almost as pigheaded as his sister_.

But before she reached her captain, the petals gathered around him, and a long sword materialised at his throat.

"Strawhat, out of respect for your grandfather, I'll say this once: Surrender and get a fair trial!" the Vice Admirals head began to form from a myriad of petals, shifting and turning as if caught in a breeze, the sword in her hand drawing the tiniest trickly of blood from Luffy neck "Think of your comrade" she gestured to Nami her expression stern "She won't last long, when my comrades start firing at her! The same for your _uncle_ "

While Luffy gritted his teeth and Francis apparently ignored them, too busy hammering a marine's face into the floor, Nami struck.

Extending her clima-tact at the Vice Admirals hand she muttered "Gust Sword!"

The blast of wind spread the petals into air and slammed into several of the marines, knocking them off their feet. The sword clattered to the ground and the female marine looked at her in surprise, which was just enough of an opening to allow Luffy to wrench free of her grasp and put some distance between the two.

For a moment silence reigned as the marines tried to rise, only for the large smuggler to smash into them with either a foot or his fist.

The marine leader quickly shifted her focus from the pirates and surrounded the pile of a man with a whirlwind of petals before he actually made good of his homicidal promise.

"Give up, you can't expect to kill us all!"

"You can't expect to kill a single one with your incompetence!" the trapped man snarked back at her

"What?!"

"I said: _You are incompetent_ , that little girl just got the drop on you" while it was almost impossible to see through the swarm of petals, Nami though she saw him nod in her direction, before following up with a half disgusted and half overbearing "…and you're using your powers like an amateur!"

"Oh gods! How can he insult people now?" Nami half-whined half-grumbled as the cloud of flowers got thicker, obscuring the form completely

"Yeah uncle, we've got more important things to do!"

"One more move Strawhat and I'll take out your uncle" the Vice Admiral called back angrily ignoring whatever meaning or implications of the pirate captains words, while the pink red storm got tighter "Sir.." she addressed the man caught in her floral cell "You've only tried to murder people that… _threatened_ your family, the courts will be merciful!"

"You couldn't take out the trash, if you lived next to the bin!"

"You tell her uncle!"

With a sigh that told far too much for Nami's liking, the Vice Admiral decided that enough was enough, and the whirlwind of petals began to tighten around the large figure trapped within.

A moment later the old smuggler was covered in petals, restricting his movements and threatening to suffocate him.

It didn't last long.

Not letting the opening go to waste, Luffy launched a fist straight at the Vice Admirals head, haki covered and swift.

The punch hit home and the woman momentarily took physical form and lost her concentration.

Swiftly drawing her sword, she aimed it at the smuggler, who was breaking free of his fragrant confinement.

"I'm warning you…" the next moment saw her slam into the wall face ramming through it, courtesy of a shoulderblow from her former, now freed, prisoner.

"Amateur" the man scoffed as her brushed the last of the petals of his body with a disdainful scowl "Does none of you buffoons know what you're doing?"

The marines had already aimed the rifles in response, and firering!

Luffy grabbed the large mans' collar and pulled him to the side, to his vocal displeasure, avoiding the bulllets which proceeded to hit the other end of the room.

"Let go of me boy!"

"We don't have time for this!"

"Listen to you nephew mr. Francis!" Nami pleaded as she ran after the two men (though that was only in the loosest terms of the sense in Francis' case) "We really do need to get going!"

"Not before I'm done with those…" the huge man raged but Nami interjected him, being fed up with his priorities (and wanting to get the hell away from the reloading Marines)

"Luffy, just head for the hole in the wall!" she shrieked and pointed at the hole they'd made when they visited the museum the first time.

The captain immediately grinned and dragged his struggling rotund uncle after him.

They didn't get far.

With a sickeningly wet " _creeeeeeeeaaaakkkkk"_ , the wooden beams that held up the wall and surrounded the hole in it, sprang to life and formed a wall of branches, fresh leaves and bark in front of them, cracking plaster and boards to splinters and debris.

For a moment Nami and Luffy stood still as statues (Francis still struggling in his nephews grasp) starring at the barricade that had suddenly formed in front of them

Swfitly whipping around Nami was surprised to see the bluehaired woman hold onto a wooden beam at the entrance, the green dressed marine holding her shoulders with a sickeningly smug grin, while Ain herself was alternating between staring intently at the now captured pirates and giving the other marine the stink eye.

 _Of course… she makes things younger by touching them…._ Was all she could think of as the other marines levelled their riffles at them again,

And fired…

* * *

 **(On the streets)**

The loud clashes of steel vs steel could be heard several streets away, the toppling of a building and the screech of stone against stone from a tower that had somehow been sliced up from base to crown, made the battle impossible to ignore.

But some did just that.

However, as the man in the huge coat forced his way through the throng of fleeing civilians as their homes and shops were thrashed by whatever parties were fighting, he had a hard time ignoring their voices.

Some of them yapped about an army,

others of fearsome pirates bent to sack and take the city, screaming for the population to flee to the smaller islands.

Most wailed about where the marines were, and why they hadn't come to the battle yet.

He did dismiss most of those voices, focussing on the scarce few he could use…

"A _Demonwoman_ "

"… _Three swords…"_

" _Freakishly huge!"_

" _Sicklooking fat guy!"_

"Strawhat had to make trouble eh?" he sighed, Can't be helped then,,, if they're between me and y target then they're going to bleed, he though as he renewed his efforts, walking harder through the press of bodies towards his destination,

 **Battle**

* * *

 **(In the museum)**

The bullets rammed into the statue almost as soon as Luffy had pulled the golden monstrosity in their path.

Nami hid behind it and for the first time out loud cursed that it was solid gold statue (or that anything was fold for that matter).

"Why're you angry about that Nami?"

"Because gold is soft and the bullets will either soon pierce through it or make shrapnel fly towards us" the huge man he held onto responded deadpan "I'm honestly surprised that one of your _friends_ -" he said the word like someone would define a rash or a disease "-besides Nico Robin or your crews' doctor, that have an inkling of intelligence"

Nami was both surprised that he had given her an offhand compliment and openly insulted the crew in the same breath.

"… _thanks_ …"

"Let go of me Strawhat, I can't deal with those fools and having to drag you along!"

" _Froggle_ you really need to stop acting like that…"

 _You need to decide on something to call him Luffy…_ Nami cringed as more shots began to ram into the statue she was leaning against.

"Haven't we already been through this?"

"Yeah earlier today, why're you asking?"

"It's just not right to do the same all over again"

"So you're actually going to start attacking, instead of fleeing like frightened rodents?"

"… _No_ mr. Francis, I'd just really like to get out of here!"

"That is not compatible with my plans Cat Burglar" the former smuggler began, before proposing an alternative "We can meet up on Dvorak later, after I'm done with these clowns"

"NO!" Luffy looked at him with outrage, his uncle looked even less enthused than usual

"…You know, you're starting to act a lot like Fran"

"AM NOT!"

"And you've also inherited her lack of self-reflection."

While the pair bickered, Nami cursed as the bullet stopped, which could only mean one thing.

She just had enough time to nudge her blustering captain in the ribs before the first attacker was upon them.

Not surprisingly it was one of the big burly marines, lifting a sabre longer than Nami's leg above his head, ready to strike down at either of the trio covering behind the statue.

Luffy's fist shut up however, and the marine slammed into the ceiling and fell to the floor, unconscious. And the Captain wasn't even done. A moment later, another attacker thundered into another marine, and both went through the wall spreading a mist of dust and pulverized plaster in the room.

Unfortunately, Luffy couldn't keep hold of his single-mindedly truculent uncle at the same time.

Though as two marines screamed, one in terror the other in deadly pain, Nami felt that it was, by far, the marines that had the worst of the situation.

"HEY stop doing that! we've got to get going!" Luffy yelled as he disarmed a marine of his cudgel and K.O'd him with a solid punch in the gut.

"Only 13 left to end, then we can move" he stomped down on the chest of a marine with a crunch, forcing the man further down into the floor "I'll be down to a dozen in a moment"

"No, we're moving now"

"When I'm done boy"

Nami trembled at the idea, the man was even more stubborn than Luffy, when there was even the slightest chance, that the captain wouldn't get 90% of the meat on the Sunny. Though the thought of coldblooded murder, was less chilling than the casual tone the man used when talking about it.

Looking back at Luffy, she saw that he was about to get surrounded.

Moving fast she jumped and swung her clima-tact at the nearest one.

The marine parried the blow with his cutlass, eliciting a loud "kiiiin" as the weapons grinded against eachother.

The marine smiled as he started to force her staff downwards, Nami struggling against his strength, but to no avail. The man wasn't stupid, he'd seen her use her _Gust Sword_ against the Vice Admiral and wasn't about to fall for the same trick. Two other marines swiftly moved in from the side to corner the navigator, trying to box her in. whether it was to kill her or take her prisoner, Nami didn't know, the bloodthirsty smile on one's face indicated the latter.

The marine with the cutlass didn't even have the time to comprehend when Nami suddenly smiled.

 _Idiots, as if Gust Sword is the only thing my weapon can do!_

" _Burakku Boru, Raiun Roddo (Black Ball: Raiun Rod_ )!"

The initial look on the three marines' faces as dark cloud shot out of either end of Nami's weapon was one of confusion, then, as the cutlass-wielder was electrocuted by the cloud at his feet, the two others jumped back, hoping to avoid the same fate. The one with the cutlass was still standing however, but Nami knocked him out with a strike from her staff to the temple, simultaneously sending the two other black clouds at the remaining marines.

Luffy's opponents, though still focussed on their target, noted the navigators' progress.

One of the marines, a big burly man with a cudgel, bullcharged Luffy from the side, and though the captain sent him to the ground with a punch, he was still sent stumbling into Nami's attack.

Luckily the Rubberman was immune to lightning, and rather than score a cheap point in the battle, the sight of seeing him be electrocuted and not take any damaged, rattled the remaining marines to their core. Luffy capitalized on it quickly, ramming a fist into a marines' face faster than a bullet.

Meanwhile the other black cloud took out the marine with the bloodthirsty smile, his expression now one of painful frozen shock.

"You seem to be doing decently" Luffys' uncle remarked dryly, his brief hesitation giving another pair of marines the chance to get him off the marine he'd been crushing. The pair were only successful in driving him off, as the rotund man backhanded one of them into a table, splintering the wood as if it was made of withered leaves.

The other one tried to bearhug him into submission.

Nami could tell that it wouldn't work any better for him than it had his comrade. Though it created an opening for the crunched man to be pulled up by another of the marines.

Then ony thing that stopped Nami from being relieved, was that the helping Marine was the Vice Admiral, recovered and glaring daggers at all three of them, seemingly pondering whom to attack first.

Nami was even less happy to see that the other woman decided that the navigator and her captain were the bigger threat, not Luffy's crazed uncle.

With a Swordswing Nami barely managed to parry the Vice Admiral re-joined the fray. The shock of the blow made Nami's arms feel numb.

This isn't going to be easy… the orangehaired woman thought as the Vice Admiral retracted her blade to strike again.

When she did so, Luffy pulled Nami to the side, switching opponents with her. Now Nami was forced to deal with the cudgel marine.

Bigger than her, and with vastly more muscle, the navigator was forced to rely on finesse to fight him.

The other marines didn't think the big guy'd need help and disengaged so not to get in the way of the fight. Instead they charged at Coyle, who was in the process of strangling the hugger from before.

" _Mirage Tempo!"_ hoping that the element of surprise would give her the edge, Nami was happy to see that the marine's eyes darted left and right as four identical Nami's appeared before him.

Then a broad smile appeared on his face, and the rushing blush on his cheeks and the steam coming out of his nostrils told Nami exactly what he was thinking.

"Pig!" she growled at she slammed the end of her staff up in the marines' groin, toppling him with a howl of pain, clutching his privates in agony.

"Oi Nami that ain't necessary!" Luffy interjected, turning halfway to give her a unhappy look

"A low blow indeed" the vice Admiral agreed, disapprovement written in her eyes.

"Are you two fighting or what?!" Nami yelled back at the pair of leaders, who resumed their duel a moment later.

Relief flooded over Nami as she saw that the marine woman was at a disadvantage, her Logia powers being nullified by Luffy's armament haki, though her speed and strength more than breached the gap, having left small red lines on both of Luffy's arms and Nami felt that the other woman could do worse still.

Deciding to help, despite Not having Haki, Nami moved to strike the Vice Admiral from the side.

The marine woman moved backwards in the opposite direction, towards the door.

"Can't I fight her myself?"

"Stop complaining Luffy, and let's finish this!"

"Hmmm, You two almost sound like a married couple…" the Vice Admiral scoffed in amusement, before she lunged forward blade held in one hand, while her other was turning into pinkish white petals behind her, trying to profit on Nami's bluster at the comment.

Luffy didn't let her.

Catching the marines, blade in haki coated hands, he stopped her attack instantly, holding her in place.

Then the marine smiled, and both pirates whipped their heads around to see Coyle once more covered in a storm of petals.

Growling in rage, the man cursed that he couldn't finish the marines off when he couldn't see them. Which was to a great reprieve for the foru marines that were lying battered on the floor around him. Nami just caught the look of relief on the Vice Admirals face when she faced her again.

A split second later the expression was gone, covered by Luffy's black fist the sent the woman through the doorway.

Nami wasn't late to point her staff at the entrance " _Miruki Boru (Milky Ball)!"_

Making sure to cover the entire doorway in the white material, Nami hoped the Vice admiral wound't find any cracks to seep in through. If all went well, they could make their escape before this Gion got through.

Looking back over her shoulder, she saw that the storm of petals was dispersing, releasing the corpulent form of Luffy's smuggler uncle.

Just in time for two people to rush at him.

Ain, both hands grasping at him and the green dressed marine holding on to the younger woman with a disturbing smile on his face.

Coyle didn't have time to react as the females' hands were planted into his face.

Light began to spread from the hands all over the smugglers' body.

Luffy wasn't taken aback from the sight, being more focussed on the fight, so he swiftly extended his arm to strike the greendressed marine in the face, sending him into the wall and knocking him out instantly.

Nami felt a tad of sympathy at the Smugglers predicament, his entire form wriggling, changing shape, not like Nami, Chopper, Brook or Robin had been. They'd just gotten turned into younger versions of themselves, being noticeably smaller than before.

Coyle was bending and turning as if he was liquid… or batter beaten with a huge whisk! While it only took a few seconds, the sight was something that took all of them aback.

At one point the lump that was Coyles' head somehow went down into his belly and a smaller, more appropriately shaped, head, took it's place.

Then it was finally over.

And before them stood a far smaller, and seemingly slimmer (suddenly having a waistline that wouldn't fit a pregnant elephant), version of the smuggler _Coyle the Fruitmerchant_.

Ain looked at the man in the loose hanging threadbare robe in confusion, part of it wrapped around his head, giving him a short elevator look from top to bottom, stopping just around the belt, at which point her face turned redder than a tomato covered in ketchup seen through infrared light.

"KYAAAAAAAAAH!" she screamed, her mouth hanging open, just like Luffy at dinner, and slammed her hands over her eyes and stormed off while screaming in the shrillest, most panicky little schoolgirl voice imaginable and judging from the sound of it, was close to breaking into tears:

"Pweeeeeeeeasssse put ooon sooooome paaaaaants!"

* * *

 **End of chapter 20**

A hearty Welcome to new followers (I think this fic have gotten 2-3 since last chapter).

We've hit a benchmark in my writing, since it's the first time one of my fics exceeds 200.000 words and gets a Chapter 20. So cheers and here's to a few more chapters before this story can be concluded.

A sorry for the delay with the updates, I've been busy with other things and have had a hard time writing the serious fics lately, been easy to write the small stuff. Can always find time for those for some reason.

I'd like to take the chance to respond to a review this fic got on March 22nd from an (unfortunately) unnamed guest:

 _Not to worry, you're not being rude. I'd only wish you had an account (or had used it when writing your review), so that I knew that this message would reach you. Regardless, I hope you read this. And for the record I too, do not want to sound rude, only state the basis for some of my choices in this fic upon which you've commented._

 _Why "Gion has a devilfruit (non-canon, the Hasu Hasu no Mi is my own creation so far) she doesn't know how to fully use", the whole point of that is to show that the Marines, or the rest of the world, doesn't know everything about DF's, no one does (Coyle knows more than most, though far from everything about the subject, but that's besides the point). DFs are a mysterious power, that doesn't come with a manual for everyone. Using them properly all comes down to imagination and experience, and not just from the user themselves, as I hope to convey over the next few chapters. But what is just as important, is the users' willingness to develop and train their devilfruit. In Gion's case that's a bit hard to do because her DF is so "different" from other Logia, both in in concept (Hasu = lotus petals are hardly a normal element as opposed to lightning or Smoke) and in abilities. Coyle's notes about it from chapter 16 certainly doesn't encourage her to have trained it (admittedly, it doesn't discourage it either, but those that the Marines recovered in the story are pretty much halfway unintelligible). Besides, for her to still reach the rank of Vice Admiral despite not having fully explored df powers, she's substantially more powerful than the regular Vice Admirals like Dalmatian or Smoker, at least as far as I see it (I hope I've made some of her skills evident enough in this chapter and will get to expanding on it over the following chapters as well, so don't worry)._

" _Gion's not a perfect user for the Hasu Hasu" I don't' think there's a perfect user for a devil fruit for a number of reasons:_

 _First: There's always someone that thinks up different and sometimes stronger ways to use it than the one having eaten it. An example of this is Luffy who got a lot of help from Rayleigh to add to his repertoire of techniques, which eventually led to development of Gear 4. Who can say that there's not a ton of fruit users that have had input or a master that trained them in the use of their powers. The marines would certainly have a few of those, given the amount of DF users in their ranks. I think that Impel down would definetly have someone that makes sure to train the awakened Zoan guards._

 _Second: perfection is an arbitrary concept that causes a lot of problems and never leaves everyone satisfied. Let me flesh out the version of Gion I've envisioned and let her grow with her understanding of all the different stuff her df can do and then judge if you think she's good enough to have it, or if there's areas where this df or the character could be expanded._

 _Thank you for liking the df, I'll get to show its unique properties over the next few chapters. I haven't fleshed out the truly epic aspects of it yet, but some of the more mundane abilities are going to be very useful for her._

I hope my response wasn't too long for those following this fic, if so, I'm terribly sorry. But I like to respond to this sort of thing whenever I can.

Until next time I thank you for your patience,

The wait for Chapter 21, it won't be months long this time around, as my exams are over for the time being and have few plans for the summer.

Please RnR if you'd be so kind, the reviews are always enjoyably, when they're related to the story.


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